


What A Family Is

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Series: Star Wars: A Modern AU [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Modern AU, Rey and Kylo are cousins, Rey centric fic, grandpa ani
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-05-27 15:32:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6290029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a conversation with her grandfather, Rey discovers that her cousin has run away and takes it upon herself to find him before her Aunt and Uncle hear of it. But is Kylo's sudden disappearance simply due to family problems or something more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the final part of my Modern AU trilogy. It is a separate story in and of itself but I would suggest reading the last two stories as this one will reference them a lot. With that said, to old and new readers, welcome and I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> UPDATE: I know this chapter had a lot of spelling and grammatical errors so I went back and fixed them (I'm sure there are still a few here and there but I fixed the majority of them). I'll make sure that doesn't happen again. I was just so excited to get this chapter out that I didn't properly reread it. Anyways thanks as always and the next chapter will be up soon.

For the first six years of Rey’s life, she was simply that, just Rey. No last name, no family to call her own, not even a definite birthday. Having no knowledge of where she came from did not dampen her spirits though as she truly believed that her family would come back. For a while, she would even act unruly in front of those that might adopt her simply in the hopes they wouldn’t. She had to stay because it was where her family knew she was.

However, at the age of six, Rey was brought to meet two men who had kind smiles and sweet voices. They asked important questions (at least important to a six year old) like what her favorite color was and what toys were great to play with. They believed in her imaginary friends and seemed fine with her dream job of being an astronaut princess. Rey met with them on seven different days and on the last day, they asked her if she wanted to join their family.

Rey had replied with only if her real family would be able to find her.

Instead of ridiculing her like most of the other adults would do, the two men had instead said of course and that they’d even help her look for them. It was with those words that Rey nodded and went from being just Rey to Rey Amidala.

Luke, who she quickly dubbed Dad, and Wedge, who she chose Father for, were wonderful parents and eventually, when Rey grew older and realized that her biological parents weren’t actually coming back, both stayed strong for her and she quickly realized that biological or not, they had become her parents. Still, for a while they did look but with nothing to lead them to her origins, Rey came to terms with the fact that she may never know and simply became content with what she had.

Over the years, Rey became more than just a simple name. She became a daughter and a granddaughter and a niece. She had two fathers, a wonderful aunt and uncle, a cousin, and two grandfathers and a beautiful grandmother. Rey went from being part of nothing to being part of a large, intricate family of beautiful people.

Now at the age of nineteen, Rey no longer had to worry about if she truly belonged or not. She was an Amidala and that was what was important. Besides, even being adopted she had somehow inherited the stubborn yet good-hearted nature of the Amidala family and it made it clear she might as well have been related by blood.

It was also that stubborn nature that had helped Rey to convince both parents to let her go to the school she wanted, off in California and on the other end of the US. It had taken time but eventually both had agreed. The main reason why they had said yes was because Ben, or Kylo as he liked to be called now, lived over in California, and Rey’s best friend Finn would be going to the same school as well.

That first year ended up being a good one but Rey couldn’t help but be thankful for the Summer Semester to begin. She had one online class but other than that she was free of school and had a million and one plans already set up. For the first two weeks, she went on a camping trip with Finn and his new boyfriend Poe Dameron. Though Poe was still a relatively new friend and practically ten years older, she could already tell that he would be a friend for life. She’d told her parents a lot about him and she knew that they would like him the moment they met.

After the camping trip, Rey had about a week to herself and then went to spend a week with her parents. Once that was done she made sure to visit her Aunt and Uncle for a few days (she sadly found it more pleasant without Ben there) and Rey headed back to California. She then did smaller events on and off with friends while getting through her single class and taking work when it was available for a while. However, with two weeks left before the Fall Semester, Rey finally took what would be her final trip before getting back into school.

Rey flew to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was where her Dad and Aunt had grown up and where Rey’s grandparents had settled down (Uncle Han’s parents had died when he was young and her Father’s parents had passed away early on as well leaving her three living grandparents from her Dad and Aunt).

As a child, Rey had loved visiting Grandma Padmé and Grandpa Obi-Wan and Anakin. Admittedly, she would sometimes fight the trips but ultimately she always had an amazing time. All three of them were excellent storytellers but in different ways so that by their voices alone, Rey knew she wouldn’t get bored.

Grandpa Ani’s stories were perfect when one wanted to get riled up and feel adrenaline coursing through their veins. Grandma Padmé’s stories always made Rey feel like she was floating on a river in a magical forest, the way she would weave words together creating a rich and vast canvas. Then there were Grandpa Obi-Wan’s stories which Rey could always fall asleep too. Not because they were boring of course, if anything she loved his the most, but simply because in her opinion, he had the best voice and the soft, lilting nature of it always could put her right to sleep.

However, Rey knew that those days were behind her. The almost fantasy like worlds that Padmé had once created and the bedtime stories that Obi-Wan had told were gone along with so much more. Rey knew that they would both live on in her heart and their children’s hearts, but somehow that didn’t make it any easier, particularly when she went back to that house.

And this would be Rey’s first trip alone. Just her and Grandpa Ani in a home that had once held so much life. It made Rey nervous and thankful that she was taking a taxi to the house. She couldn’t stop twitching.

Upon arrival, she paid the driver and then dragged her one small suitcase out of the car. As the taxi drove away, she looked at the two story home. Standing there, she suddenly remembered one party in particular when she’d been so very small. It had actually occurred not long after she’d been adopted and had been her first proper party. There had been noise everywhere and constant movement, so many relatives and friends that it seemed like its own small nation rather than a family.

Now the house looked a little worse for wear, Grandma Padmé no longer there for the constant upkeep. The little garden that had once been in front of the porch had become unruly long ago and it seemed it would never be tamed again.

With a deep breath, Rey finally forced herself to walk up the driveway and go to the front door. She knocked and after an almost worryingly long pause, C3P0 opened the door. Grandpa Ani had long ago succeeded in creating an intelligent robot of sorts that could be used in a variety of jobs both mundane and incredibly dangerous. C3P0 was not that robot but instead a prototype with a number of bugs that made decommissioning him look more reasonable than trying to fix him.

Anakin had done neither, instead taking an odd liking to the robot. For a long time, C3P0 had remained at Anakin’s work (unlike Padmé and Obi-Wan he hadn’t retired right away). However, after the house had become its empty abode, Anakin had finally left and had taken all of his work with him, including C3P0. Rey found the robot rather annoying at times and still didn’t understand why her grandfather didn’t want to fix the obscene anxiety levels that the robot could get at times, but she never complained knowing that it was better that Grandpa Ani wasn’t alone, even if it was only a robot keeping him company.

“Oh, Ms Rey. What a pleasure it is. May I—”

“Hello to you too C3P0,” sighed Rey as she pushed past, keeping a tight grip on her bag. “Grandpa in his workshop?”

“Yes he—”

“Thank you C3P0. I’ll call upon you if I need to,” Rey assured and hurried by the robot and the stairs.

She walked past what had once been Grandpa Obi-Wan’s study, a small bathroom, and went to the backroom that had acted as Grandpa Ani’s workshop for decades. Not bothering to knock, Rey entered into the organized chaos and walked over to her grandfather who sat on the floor, tinkering with some new design.

Rey had learned long ago that it was impossible to sneak up on Anakin Skywalker and even introductions seemed pointless as he always seemed to know who approached him. As always, Rey caught sight of his metal prosthetic first. Nowadays, it was practically child’s play making a prosthetic look like the real thing. However, Rey always knew that Anakin liked the almost silver-skeleton look that the prosthetic provided and had never been fitted with any kind of slip or cover.

For a while, Rey simply sat there, watching her grandfather work. He was in his mid-seventies but his fingers still worked with a grace and speed that some younger men could only ever dream of achieving. Even more lines appeared on his face as he frowned in silent concentration, the scar over his right eye bunching up. His long, wavy silvery grey hair slipped into his eyes and he tried to blow it out of his face, not wanting to take his fingers off the project in front of him.

Rey quickly pushed his hair back behind his ears and finally spoke the first words. “I think you need another haircut.”

“Perhaps,” murmured her grandfather. It took another five minutes before he finally drew his attention away from his project. “Hmm, your hair looks weird.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to try something different,” Rey said as she ran a hand over her three buns.

“Well it’s certainly different. So, when is school suppose to swallow up all your time?” he asked.

“In two weeks time.”

“Won’t be able to come back out for a while, hmm?”

“Probably not,” Rey admitted.

Grandpa Ani mulled this over in his head for a moment and then said, “Alright, I’ll get this over with nice and quick and then we can both have a pleasant visit.”

“What would make it unpleasant?” asked Rey with a frown.

“Kylo has decided to run away.”

“I don’t understand why you call him that,” muttered Rey, focusing on what was unimportant as her head tried to wrap around the rest.

“He wants to go by that, so be it. There’s no reason to pick pointless fights,” Anakin replied and Rey could just hear the rant about Han building up in Anakin’s throat but somehow he pushed past it and instead continued with, “He called yesterday. Wanted to tell me so that I’d know he was alright. Think he was heading off with that boyfriend of his as well.”

Rey resisted the urge to groan. If there was one thing she liked less than Ben going by Kylo then it was his weird relationship with Hux, his boyfriend slash mortal enemy it sometimes seemed. It didn’t help either that Brendol Hux Jr. was the son of Brendol Hux, the man who had worked with Sheev Palpatine in murdering many senators and other illegal activities that helped further Palpatine’s agenda. Brendol Hux had also been the one who attempted to murder her grandmother and Dad's and Aunt's godfather.

Needless to say, the family didn’t exactly like Hux. Or perhaps that wasn’t the right word. They didn't hate him for what his father had done but they certainly didn’t trust him.

And neither did Rey. Sometimes she wondered if Ben’s downward spiral was really all due to Hux’s influence. After all, her grandfather had just told her he had run away with the guy.

“So Ben eloped with Hux. Great,” Rey growled but her frown deepened as she watched her grandfather shake his head.

“I felt that there was more to this. That he was running from something.”

“Yeah, probably his dad,” sighed Rey.

“Partially, but I’m pretty sure there’s more to the story. But anyways, that’s what I wanted to tell you. Now we can move on,” he replied.

Rey raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? Now I won’t be able to think about anything but Ben running away!”

“True, but I’ve already gotten it off my chest so I’ll be fine,” Grandpa Ani said with a smirk. “So, let’s have a good visit.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “You’re awful, you know that?”

“Always.” Anakin slowly pushed himself up off the ground and Rey followed suit, resisting the urge to help as she knew how much he hated that. “So,” he continued, “how about pancakes?”

“It’s two in the afternoon,” snorted Rey.

“Perfect, come on.”

Rey continued to roll her eyes as she followed her grandfather out of his workspace. However, she didn’t argue because if there was one thing Anakin liked more than working on a robotics project, it was cooking, courtesy of his late husband and wife. Rey personally didn’t like cooking but she liked seeing her grandfather happy and knew that cooking brought forth a joy that other activities just couldn’t. She supposed that it had to do with the memories connected to it.

Once they had gotten most of the ingredients out, courtesy of C3P0 because the robot just had to help, Rey finally spoke again.

“But seriously? What did Ben tell you? Why the hell is he running away?” asked Rey.

“Well, _Kylo_ told me that talking with his father was just to much and he had to leave it all. That doesn’t really make sense though seeing as he’s independent and not even living with Leia and Han.”

“Yes,” admitted Rey, "that is a bit odd.”

“Besides that, it was the tone of voice that suggested something deeper was going on. I think Kylo may have finally bitten off more than he can chew.”

“But why tell me?” asked Rey.

“Didn’t really feel like calling anyone. And you’re the first one here since it’s happened so…yeah.”

Rey let out a groan. “What? No explanation? No deeper meaning? You were just too lazy to tell anyone else first?”

“Basically, yeah. Besides, Obi-Wan was always the one for the deeper meanings.” A crack happened in his voice at that name but it was understandable. Relative to Padmé’s passing, Obi-Wan’s was still fairly recent. It still hurt Rey too.

“So, any idea on where he’s going?” Rey asked.

“Probably somewhere familiar.”

“In that case, don’t let Aunt Leia and Uncle Han know about this. No point in worrying them if it’s not needed.”

“True,” Anakin said. “So are you thinking of looking for him?”

“If only to make it easier on everyone else, yes,” muttered Rey. “But he’s an idiot for doing this either way.”

“Maybe. I think going after him would do you two good though.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Rey said defensively.

“You’ve been on his back as much as Han and Leia have been too. Yes, in different ways, but maybe some good will come out of this and you’ll finally realize how important family is,” Grandpa Ani replied.

It was with those words that Rey realized why her grandfather had told her this, not because of pure laziness for failing to inform someone else but because he didn’t want to inform others. The more people aware of what was going on then the larger the force would be slamming down on Ben once he was found. Even Rey could see that would only drive him farther away.

But if only one person went after him and perhaps with a clearer head…

“No matter what the reason, I’ll try to drag Ben back,” Rey replied.

Anakin shook his head though. “If you have to drag Kylo back at all, just don’t. He needs to come back on his own terms or not at all.”

Grandpa Ani was right but it didn’t mean Rey had to like it. She wanted to grab Ben by his long black hair, tie him to the back of her car, and drive him cross country to his parents and make them all reconcile for whatever they were feuding about (in truth Rey didn’t even fully know and she doubted the rest of the family did either). But her grandfather was right in saying that would only make things harder.

“Fine,” muttered Rey, “I won’t force him into anything but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“I never said you did.”

“Good. When I get back to California, I’ll hunt him down then.”

“Excellent. Now let’s shut up about Kylo and focus on pancakes.”

Rey snorted. “Only if you promise to make blueberry.”

“Chocolate chip is better.”

“I’ll just tell Han and Leia about Ben running off then. And I won’t do anything to help too,” Rey replied.

“Fine, blueberry it is.”

Rey let out a quick cheer. “Thank you grandpa.”

“No problem sweetheart,” Anakin said with a half smile. “Now, I know you visited your father not long ago. Getting into trouble is he?”

Rey rolled her eyes but quickly went into detail as to how her fathers were doing and from there it was easier to get her mind off of Ben. Nevertheless, that night her mind was filled with thoughts of her cousin as she battled between the logically mundane option; i.e. nothing was wrong but his sour ego and piss poor attitude; and the completely insane one; i.e. the equivalent of some ridiculous conspiracy theory that something could be putting his life in danger.

It was the second idea that kept Rey up that night but by the morning she had finally settled on the first choice. This would be simple. Ben was just now experiencing the "running away phase" or something. That was it.

Rey decided that there was no reason to continue worrying about all this now that she had figured it out in her head. Instead, she decided to take advantage of her time with her grandfather and they talked about mechanics and flying and fencing and avoided anything to do with Ben/Kylo Solo.


	2. An Unexpected Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note that I fixed a lot of the spelling and grammatical errors in the last chapter for those that noticed. I was way to excited and put it out way to early. Sorry about that and sorry for the long wait. Hopefully it was worth it. Please enjoy :)

On the last day of her three day visit, Rey found herself wishing she could stay longer despite the apprehension she had felt when she’d arrived.

“I’m going to miss you grandpa,” she said as she hugged Anakin tight. A taxi was waiting to take her back to the airport and they only had a few seconds left.

“The same here sweetheart. Try to visit again soon. And don’t forget to call.”

“I won’t,” promised Rey. She looked over her grandfather’s shoulder and gave a sigh. “Good bye to you too C3P0.”

“Oh! And a lovely good bye to—”

“And call me if Ben-fine _Kylo_ -gets in touch with you. I’ll try to find him as soon as possible,” Rey added, interrupting the robot as she knew C3P0 could make a simple good bye take hours.

Anakin nodded. “I will. I’ll see you later then. Good luck.”

“Same to you Grandpa Ani,” she said and then grabbed her suitcase and left.

Rey reminisced on her visit with her grandfather over the flight back to California, letting the pleasant memories seep into her dreams before she woke up upon the plane landing. She headed out and took a taxi to her apartment that was about a quarter of a mile away from her college.

A little jetlagged and knowing she would have to readjust to the time difference, Rey planned on unpacking and going straight to bed. Tomorrow she would deal with Kylo and figure out where he would have likely gone.

At least that was the plan until Rey turned on the lights to her apartment and nearly jumped out of her skin.

On instinct, she grabbed the nearest object and threw it. Rey jumped back and grabbed the door handle, ready to make a run for it if needed, when she finally had time to register the face of the person sitting there.

They had caught the object, a book, and slowly lowered it to reveal light blonde hair and sharp blue eyes.

Rey eased her hand off the door handle but remained on edge. Just because she finally recognized who was sitting in her home didn’t mean she trusted them.

“Phasma, what the hell are you doing in my apartment?” sighed Rey as she ran a hand over her face.

The woman stood, seeming to fill Rey’s small apartment with her presence. A former soldier, honorably discharged after an accident that rendered a permanent limp in her left leg, Phasma had been an odd acquaintance that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. She worked as a mechanic at the same place where Poe flew yet neither had ever really met. That had only happened once Poe started dating Finn and Hux had become Kylo’s mortal enemy and boyfriend.

Phasma was a long time friend of Hux’s and due to that alone, Rey had never fully trusted the woman. The idea that Phasma knew Brendol Hux and was a “family friend” wasn’t the only thing that didn’t sit right with Rey though. The woman was impossible to read, any and all emotion always covered by a carefully composed mask. The fact that she never seemed to let it drop away had always unnerved Rey and it especially didn’t help the situation now, particularly since it was looking like Phasma had broken into her apartment.

“I needed to see you,” Phasma responded.

“And a simple phone call couldn’t work? Why would you need to see me anyways?” asked Rey.

“Hux has disappeared.” Rey had always found it odd how Hux refused to go by his first name. However, she ignored that little thought and focused on what Phasma was adding. “And I did call. You simply didn’t answer.”

Right, she had forgotten that she’d turned off her phone during the plane ride. Sighing, Rey finally allowed herself to relax a little more and dragged her suitcase to her bedroom. “Well you didn’t have to break in.”

“No, but I needed to contact you immediately,” Phasma responded as she followed Rey into the bedroom, either oblivious or purposely ignoring Rey’s privacy. “Kylo has also disappeared and I fear for both their safety.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at that. Thinking that things were more complicated was one thing, actually fearing for Hux and Kylo was another.

“What are you talking about?” asked Rey. “How are they in danger?”

“I promised Hux I would not go any further. That is all I can say at this moment.”

Rey sighed and shook her head. “Whatever, listen. I know they’re missing and I’m planning on leaving tomorrow and going to look for them so—”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Um, this is kind of a family—”

“Hux is my family,” Phasma said and though she kept her voice rather neutral, Rey felt that the words were her first hint at how much she actually cared for the evil ginger.

“Okay, fine. But Ben-Kylo is my family as well and honestly, I’m pretty sure this disappearance has to do with him.”

“I would not be so sure.”

“Well,” snorted Rey, “would you care to elaborate on that.”

“No.”

Rey resisted the urge to groan and instead settled for flopping onto her bed. Rubbing her eyes, she reopened them to see Phasma had stepped closer so as to stay within Rey’s eyesight.

“I need to find Hux and would prefer it if you helped. However, I cannot force you.”

Rey was fairly sure that was a lie. Phasma seemed fairly capable of tying her up and forcing any ideas out of her but the fact that she was dead set on finding Hux helped Rey with her next set of words. If there was one thing she did know about Phasma, it was that when given a goal nothing could possibly deter her from it.

“Well, if you’re focused on finding Hux,” Rey said, “and I want to find Kylo and they’re both more than likely together, then we might as well work together. Do you have a car?”

“A motorcycle.”

Rey sighed. That was right. “Well, I have this place in mind where Kylo has probably gone and it’s a ways away. A motorcycle isn’t really an option.”

“Then we take another mode of transportation,” Phasma replied easily. “Either we rent a car or we have somebody else take us to this mystery place.”

Already knowing she didn’t want to rent a car, Rey tried to think of who could drive them. Really, there was only one person she would trust with trying to get Kylo back and that was Finn, and by association Poe. Finn didn’t have a car yet Poe did but if Poe said yes then Finn would definitely want to come as support and then it would be Rey, Finn, Poe, and Phasma all stuck in Poe’s vintage 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. Just thinking about it sounded like a disaster in her head.

Finn was terrified of Phasma, mainly due to how she threatened to throw him into a plane’s engine after he got into a rough fight with Hux, and once again, simply by association, Poe hated Phasma because of that. As protective as Phasma was of Hux, Poe was just as protective of Finn. And if she went with that then everyone would be on edge for the whole time and the place Rey was thinking of would take about three days travel to get too and—

“Poe Dameron has a car. Ask him to take us,” Phasma suddenly said, interrupting Rey’s thoughts.

Wishing that Phasma hadn’t seemingly looked into her thoughts, Rey sighed, “You hate Poe.”

“No. Why would I? He is annoying but I know that if he ever really bothered me then I could easily take care of him.”

Well that wasn’t a pleasant thought. And Rey didn’t doubt it. She could already imagine Phasma flipping Poe over her shoulder with ease. “Well if I ask Poe, he’s definitely going to come with. He’s not going to just let me have his car. As much as he trusts me, he loves that care more than life itself and wouldn’t dare let anyone else drive.” Except perhaps Finn which just showed how much Poe loved Finn but that was beside the point. “So Poe would be driving us and Finn would definitely join in too. We’d be making a literal road trip out of this.”

Phasma shrugged. “I don’t care. I simply wish to find Hux quickly.”

“Listen, if I didn’t know better, I’d say this was an emergency.”

“He is in danger, so to speak,” replied Phasma.

“Like, from someone other than Kylo?” asked Rey.

Phasma actually rolled her eyes at that. It was one of the most human reactions Rey had ever seen from the woman. “If Hux had simply run off to get some peace and quiet with that unpredictable man-child then I would leave them to it and wait until his return. This is something entirely different.”

Rey frowned. “You’re saying that Kylo and Hux are seriously in danger?”

“Hux likely is. Kylo is only in danger by his involvement,” Phasma responded.

The words truly surprised Rey. She had thought that their disappearance had all been due to something Kylo had done. However, with the way Phasma was talking, it sounded like Hux was the real reason they had left. Which was even odder because Hux wasn’t one to run from things. He hit problems head on and would sometimes mercilessly beat himself against an issue until exhausted and bloody. Ben-Kylo was the one that liked to avoid issues, pretend they weren’t happening or just ignore all those involved.

“Well, Kylo is my family and as…infuriating as he can be at times, I will protect him as much as I can. I would really appreciate it if you told me what we’re getting ourselves into here,” Rey admitted.

“It has to do with Hux. Other than that, it is not my place to say,” Phasma replied. She actually sounded sorry at that point, like she wanted to console Rey but couldn’t due to her ties with Hux. “We simply need to find them. So, where is this place you suspect them to have gone?”

“It’s this vacation house we use to go to,” Rey replied. “Like our entire family. It’s up in Alaska, big, spacious, and most importantly, secluded.”

“Kylo hates his family. Why would he go to a place with such close ties?” asked Phasma.

“Well, for one thing, we haven’t been up there in years. It’s basically abandoned.”

“But why go that far away? And why somewhere familiar? They could be anywhere,” Phasma responded.

“True, but whenever Ben would-sorry, just a bit hard to remember he doesn’t go by that-whenever Kylo got upset or needed to distance himself from a problem, he would go somewhere familiar. If he was fighting with his dad or mom, he’d run to my house. One time, when he was older and we’d moved, he actually hitchhiked all the way there. Other times he’s gone to my grandparents’ place for refuge and he’s even run to that vacation house I mentioned to get away from it all. He goes to familiar places when he feels threatened. At the moment, due to family relations, the only familiar place that I can think of would be the vacation home,” Rey replied.

“And if Hux took charge and directed them to a different place of solace?” asked Phasma.

“Then we’re basically screwed aren’t we? I mean, I’m guessing Hux doesn’t have a pattern of running off like Kylo does, right?”

“This is the first time he’s ever just up and left,” Phasma admitted.

“Then vacation house it is,” sighed Rey. “We can always check around town, make sure they aren’t still here, but seeing as several days have passed I highly doubt it.”

“As do I. Though Hux has never done this, I doubt he would decide to linger behind after making a decision to run,” Phasma replied. “You should probably call Poe.”

Now Rey did allow herself to groan. “He’s not going to like this.”

“I figured as much. But you are his friend and he is a man that will do anything to help a friend. Call him.”

It was tempting to ignore Phasma’s demand. However, she was fairly sure that if she didn’t follow through then Phasma would likely call someone else and try and head up without her. Rey wanted to know what was going on and she was pretty sure that sticking with Phasma would lead her to the truth, whatever that was. Besides, if they did find Hux and Kylo, having herself, Phasma, Poe, and Finn there to stop them from disappearing again could prove useful.

With another sigh, Rey fished her phone out of her pocket and turned it on. Phasma moved to sit on the edge of the bed, patiently waiting for the outcome.

The phone only rung once before Poe answered it on the other end, the grin evident in his voice as it usually was.

“Rey! How are you? You’re back in town, right?”

“Yeah. Just got back today.”

“Great! Finn and I were trying to think of something before you and him had to go back to school and—”

“Well, I think I have something we could do,” Rey interrupted, “but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“I’ll love it if it means hanging out with you and Finn,” Poe replied.

Rey couldn’t help but laugh. “You are about to be eating those words Dameron.”

“Try me.”

“I need a ride up to Alaska.”

“Alaska? Hmm sounds interesting, keep going,” Poe said.

“There’s an old vacation home up there that I need to get to. I think Kylo and Hux are hiding out there and I promised my grandfather I’d try and talk to Kylo and convince him to come back before anyone noticed his disappearance.”

Poe groaned on the other end. “Seriously? That sounds like an awful way to spend your last few days before school.”

“Yeah, well I promised and now I need a way to get up there in short notice. You in?” asked Rey.

“For the emo and the ginger? Hell no! But if it’ll help you then I guess,” sighed Poe in an over dramatic voice. “But only if Finn gets to come! If we’re going to be driving all the way up to Alaska then we might as well enjoy it and have some fun along the way too.”

Rey shook her head in amusement. “Thank you. Now, when’s the earliest we can leave?”

“I took off a week to spend with Finn so I’m good tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Pick me up at about eight. And make sure you pack for about six or seven days,” Rey added.

“Got it,” Poe said. “I’ll tell Finn. See you tomorrow Rey.”

“Bye,” Rey replied and then ended the call. She looked over at Phasma who was gazing at her curiously.

“You didn’t mention that I was coming,” Phasma said.

“If I had, he would have agreed anyway. But the conversation would have just taken a lot longer and probably would have involved some shouting,” Rey replied. “This way, it’s over, quick and easy. I suppose I’ll see you here tomorrow then?”

“At eight o’clock,” Phasma said with a small nod.

“Basically, now can you please get out of my apartment?” asked Rey. “I’ve only got a few hours to get ready and sleep.”

Phasma gave a military-like nod and stood up. “Thank you,” she said, her tone softening ever so slightly. It made Rey’s eyes widen at the slight but genuine show of appreciation. “And I am sorry for breaking into your home. Until next time.”

With that, Phasma left and Rey was finally left alone. Though she knew Phasma’s last words were in reference to their next meeting, Rey couldn’t help but imagine that they meant until the next time she decided to break into Rey’s apartment which was oddly amusing.

Laughing until her sides hurt, Rey finally got up and emptied her suitcase only to fill it back up with fresh cloths and necessary items. Once that was done, Rey quickly fell asleep, knowing that it was likely the only hours of peace and quiet she’d get in the coming days.


	3. On The Road

Rey was waiting outside on the steps of her apartment building when Phasma pulled up first. It was odd, seeing her get out of a taxi rather than her customary motorcycle even if it made sense. Phasma carried a duffle bag over her shoulder, looking like she was going camping in the middle of nowhere, not road-tripping to Alaska.

Shaking her head, Rey said, “Well, I’m glad you’re here first. It’ll mean we can get the fighting and disagreements out of the way quicker.”

Phasma cocked her head to the side. “You continue to make it seem that Poe Dameron would like to see my head on a silver platter.”

“Well you did nearly break Finn’s arm,” sighed Rey.

“He was advancing on Hux.”

“And you don’t think that ginger haired devil can’t take care of himself?” Rey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Snorting at the description, Phasma replied, “I know he can but he doesn’t really care for using physical means himself. He prefers fighting of wit and knowledge more so than punches. And if he must stoop to that level, then he prefers it if someone else does it for him.”

Rey shook her head. “What? A well aimed punch not good enough for him? If used right, a punch is better than any fancy words.”

“I agree.”

Rey’s eyebrows shot up. “Hold on, myself and Phasma actually agree on something? Am I dreaming?”

“Anyone tell you _you_ can be a sarcastic shit sometimes?”

She smiled sweetly. “Very often.”

Phasma’s lips quirked upwards, so slightly it was hard to tell if it actually happened. Nevertheless, it was gone just as quickly and Phasma added, “I’m sure we agree on more than just that though. You an engineer, correct?”

“I wouldn’t say that but I’m trying to get a degree in it, yes,” Rey said.

“Hmm, mechanical engineer?”

“Perhaps.” Rey continued in an overly dramatic voice and added, “If my plans of being a world renowned fencer doesn’t work out of course.”

Phasma rolled her eyes at that which Rey found just as shocking but before she could comment on that, Poe finally pulled up, a large grin on his face that immediately dropped as his eyes caught sight of Phasma.

“ _Rey_ …”

“Alright Poe,” Rey said cheerily. “Pop open that trunk and let’s go.”

He did so but he also pointed to the door, his eyes narrowed. Rey walked over and once close enough, he whispered, “Why is she here?”

“Because this is as much her problem as it is mine.”

“Can’t she take her motorcycle or something?” muttered Poe.

“Like you said. If we’re going to be driving all the way to Alaska we might as well have fun,” Rey countered.

“Yeah, kind of hard when I have that sitting behind me ready to strangle me to death,” Poe replied.

However, Finn finally spoke up, seeming to come out of his trance at seeing Phasma there. “No way,” he said. “She’s sitting up front with you Poe.”

“What?!”

“I am sitting where I can have her in my sights at all times. Besides, she has long legs. It’s just the polite thing to do.”

Before Poe could protest more, Finn was shoving himself into the back, the farthest he could be from Phasma.

“Traitor,” muttered Poe. He then turned his gaze back to Rey. “If one of us ends up dead, I’m blaming you.”

“You’re not going to die Poe Dameron,” sighed Phasma as she finally appeared at Rey’s side. Rey realized that Phasma had grabbed her things and shoved them in her trunk along with Phasma’s duffle bag. Before she could say anything, Finn had replied.

“I can’t help but notice that you said Poe wouldn’t die. Not that no one would end up dead in general.”

Phasma just raised an eyebrow at Finn and ignored his comment. She walked to the other side of the car. “I’m assuming you’ll want to get in first Rey?”

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” she quickly replied, rushing to the other side. As Phasma opened up the door, Rey pushed the seat up, climbed in, and then pulled the seat back for Phasma.

The woman climbed in and then shut the door.

Poe looked at all of them, his gaze lingering on Rey a little longer, before he pulled out his phone and set up the GPS.

“Alright,” he said, “so our first stop will be in British Columbia, not to far over the border. Now, you…and I suppose Phasma too, should be thanking me because I have us a room at a motel there along with another place in the Yukon Territory before we reach our destination.”

Rey face palmed. “Shit! I should have thought of that. You didn’t have to do that Poe.”

“I simply assumed we’d drive straight there,” Phasma said.

“I said it would take nearly three days,” replied Rey.

“I know.”

Poe just rolled his eyes. “Whatever, both of you are idiots, Rey you owe me big time, and now for last minute decisions. Anyone want to jump out now while they have a chance?”

“Me!” cried Finn.

“Hey,” said Poe, “you don’t have a choice.”

Rey snorted. “Funny, Poe. Drive.”

“I just wanted to make sure,” he said innocently before letting off the brake and then merging into traffic. After that, it was official. They were on their way to Alaska and hopefully to Kylo Ren and Hux.

Once they were on the road, Rey quickly realized that possibly the only moment in her life that was more awkward was when Luke tried to give her the sex talk. For thirty minutes, there were slight murmurings back and forth. Phasma never really responded to anything, just gave a small grunt here and there, Poe was way to snarky, and Finn was silent as the grave.

Eventually, it was to much and Rey leaned between Poe and Phasma and promptly turned off the radio.

Still leaning over, Rey asked, “So Poe, exactly how long have you and Phasma worked together?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why would you want to know that?”

“Because the fact that I don’t know is actually a little odd seeing as we’ve all been acquaintances for a while now,” Rey replied. “So how long?”

“I don’t know,” Poe said just as Phasma replied, “Two years, four months, and…twenty-eight days now.”

Poe blinked, shock clear on his face. “That is _extremely_ specific.”

“It’s not my fault you don’t pay attention to the finer details Dameron,” Phasma replied.

“That is not ‘paying attention to finer details’. That is ‘I’ve been planning your murder from day one’ talk.”

Phasma looked over, her face stoic as ever. “I was at war Dameron. I have killed people but I am not a murderer.”

Poe had the sense to blush and actually look embarrassed. “Right…I’m-I’m sorry. That was probably insensitive of me,” he quickly said.

“No, I suppose it makes sense that you would assume such things,” Phasma replied evenly. “Besides our not so kind history, you’re also a drama queen Dameron.”

“Hey!”

She turned to Rey and raised an eyebrow. “Tell me I’m not wrong.”

At the same time Poe exclaimed, “I’m not a drama queen! Rey, Finn, tell her!”

Finn just shrugged as Rey couldn’t help but laugh. “You are a total drama queen Poe.”

He let out a light grumble. “Am not.”

“Yeah,” muttered Finn, “because when I said ‘I was busy’ that one time you took it to mean that I totally rejected all advances and didn’t like you a bit and you went around moping all day cause you thought you’d lost a chance and a friend in one go when in _actuality_ I was just busy with school and couldn’t exactly reschedule it. Yeah, you’re a drama queen Poe.”

“Hmm,” murmured Phasma, “that almost sounds as stupid as Kylo Ren’s reactions.”

“You take that back!” Poe cried. “I am nothing like that emo man-child.”

A thoughtful look came across Rey’s face. “Actually, you two aren’t that different.”

Finn’s eyebrows shot up. “I would really like to know how.”

“Well,” said Rey, “you both get hyper focused on one thing at a time, you’re drama queens, you take things out of context sometimes, and you’re both practically obsessive with your boyfriends. Though I will admit with you Poe, it’s cute and with Kylo it’s closer to concerning.”

“Well at least I have that going for me,” muttered Poe.

Rey just rolled her eyes and continued. “So you and Phasma have worked together for over two years. How can you not know that?”

“He keeps his head in the clouds. I prefer to keep my feet solidly on the ground,” replied Phasma.

Poe looked ready to argue but then surprisingly burst out into laughter. “Did you just make a pun?”

“Something like that,” Phasma said and that quick, upwards, quirk of the lips happened again before disappearing.

“Well, I guess you’re not wrong. Besides the fact that I’m usually up there flying, you know I tend to take care of any problems with my plane personally. I don’t bother the actual workers about it so it actually just makes sense that we would never have met,” Poe replied.

“Except for that one time,” Phasma said.

Poe frowned. “What time? You mean like when we finally recognized each other at that bar cause Finn and Hux were about ready to fight and it was like ‘oh looky there, we have mutual enemies’?”

“No. I’m speaking of that time we had a work party that both of us went to,” said Phasma. “One of the workers, Gal-o if I remember correctly, was rather rude to me, particularly about my height. I was ready to take a swing but you rather kindly got in between us and laid it down. I would have simply gotten an enemy, though a still pleasing story, out of it and instead you truly ripped apart his conceited beliefs and twisted ego. It was very kind of you.”

Poe snorted and looked ready to go into full laughter except Phasma’s face didn’t change. “Wait, I actually did that?”

“Yes. I’m not surprised you don’t remember it.”

“But…did I really…wait I think I remember that. I do-yeah holy shit I remember that!” Poe cried out.

Phasma nodded. “And do you remember, after your oh so gentlemanly crusade, what you did next?”

Poe’s face went bright red. “Oh yeah.”

“Wait, what did you do?” asked Finn. He had squished himself up against Rey so now both were squeezed between the two front seats, listening to Phasma and Poe. “What happened?”

“I may have puked over his shoes next,” Poe murmured.

“And I must say, for a drunk man you have eloquent speech,” Phasma replied.

Poe shook his head. “Man…I didn’t even realize that was you until now.”

“I’m sure you blocked the memory from your head. It’s not exactly the best thing when you chew out a co-worker and then puke over his one thousand and plus suit,” Phasma replied.

“Wait what! It was that much?! Fuck,” groaned Poe.

“Actually no, it was a cheaply made thing that probably looked better with the stains but I figured lying about it would be amusing,” Phasma said evenly.

“You-oh you’re awful,” Poe sighed.

“Perhaps,” Phasma replied.

“Why didn’t you just punch the guy Phasma? Surely you could have done it before Poe got in the way,” Rey said.

“Yes, but I do enjoy my job and punching co-workers can quite often end jobs,” Phasma replied. “Besides, I got back at him when we met in a bar after he quit. When he tried to start another fight, I got my satisfying punch.”

“Full on bar fight?” asked Finn curiously.

“No.”

Finn cocked his head to the side. “Ever been in one? You don’t seem like the type to start one but I can definitely see you getting involved with one.”

“Hmm, maybe. But I finish them before they get started. Not much of a fight if the other one doesn’t get up again.”

Despite how threatening that sounded, Rey couldn’t lie that it also sounded unbelievably sexy. It didn’t help that she was sure Phasma could easily do just that.

“Like how?” asked Rey. “Tell us of one time.”

“Well, I did throw a man over a balcony once,” she said, giving them all a curious look. Phasma waited as it to try and see if anyone actually wanted her to continue. She seemed shocked when it was clear Rey and everyone were waiting for the rest of the story. “Well…”

The three managed to get several stories out of Phasma as Poe drove. It was interesting as she told them, speaking in purely factual tones and rarely allowing her own opinions and feelings of the past events to get involved. Nevertheless, Rey loved it when one of them could coax Phasma to go into a little less factual and a little more fictitious descriptions. She wasn’t a natural storyteller and it was easier for Rey to imagine Phasma barking orders than sitting around a campfire with a ghost tale. Nevertheless, when she allowed her words to flow more so than the clipped, straight to the point sentences she usually said became more flowing and natural.

Her voice was nice and it was easy for Rey to get lost in the many stories.

Eventually, they somehow went from fights (which Poe and even Finn and Rey could add their own stories to the mix) and went into the mechanics of planes and cars and other forms of equipment and vehicles. Though Finn probably knew the least about such subjects, being around Poe constantly had built up his knowledge and he easily kept up with the conversation.

When they stopped for lunch, Poe commented, “If anyone told me I could have a conversation with Phasma for about four hours _and_ that conversation would be enjoyable too? Man would I have called them crazy.”

Phasma just shook her head. “Well, I personally thought any polite conversation with you would have been possible once you got over your biased nature towards Hux.”

“Well, you can hardly blame us, can you?” asked Finn. “I mean, he’s Brendol Hux Jr. His dad tried to—”

“The crimes of Hux’s father are not related to Hux in any way, shape, or form,” Phasma replied stiffly.

“We know that,” Rey quickly said, “but Hux practically reveres his father as a god and—”

“Used to,” interrupted Phasma.

Rey frowned. “What do you mean used to?”

“That is not my place to say.”

“Does this have to do with why Hux and Kylo ran away? What could his dad possibly have too—”

Interrupting Rey again, Phasma stated, “It’s not my place to say.”

Rey hesitated, clearly wanting to push more, but she stopped and turned silent. The only reason the atmosphere didn’t turn awkward was because thankfully the waiter came by at that time. After ordering drinks and giving time to look at the menus, they were able to make conversation again but Rey noted how Phasma distanced herself. She still talked and responded when a question was directed her way but she seemed less willing to get into their chat and much more willing to stay stuck in her head.

It was because Phasma was actually worried. Rey would have bet anything that Phasma was focusing on Hux right now and that was because his running off truly really wasn’t nothing. By proxy, it worried Rey and she wished she could pry Phasma’s head open and see what exactly was going on in there. However, if there was one thing that could be said about the woman, it was that she wouldn’t give for anything so instead, Rey simply tried to make Phasma feel welcomed and continued on with the conversations with Finn and Poe.


	4. A Phone Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you as always for when I'm writing this. As you may have figured out, I'm updating this every Friday as of right now. Because I can never focus on one thing, I am writing other fics at this time and once those are done, I'll focus more on this and try and get the chapters out a little faster. Thank you for your patience and for reading. Please enjoy!

They were on the other side of the Canadian border and on the edge of the city Kamloops. Finally, with night time upon them, they stopped at the motel where Poe had gotten a reservation. While Poe and Finn went into the office to get some keys, Phasma and Rey were tasked with looking for the nearest store or restaurant to eat at when Rey got an unexpected call.

“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” Rey said and slipped out of the car, walking a few paces before answering.

“Hi Father,” Rey said, the smile clear on her face and in her voice.

“Hey, how are you?” asked Wedge. “How was the visit with your grandfather?”

“Pretty good,” Rey replied. “Was a bit awkward at first but we got into a pretty good pattern.”

“Let me guess, you both spent your entire time in his workshop didn’t you?”

Rey laughed. “Yeah, basically. But I sure didn’t mind it and I know how much he loves tinkering with things. What about you and Dad? You guys just got off that weeklong vacation right?”

“Yeah, Luke just went back to work today.”

“How was it? Do anything special?”

“Not really. Just had had some down time, were lazy for most of it, things like that.”

“Glad to hear it. So why exactly are you calling?” asked Rey.

“Can’t I just call to hear your voice?”

“Luke does that. You always have a point,” Rey replied. “So, what is it you really want to talk about?” Wedge sighed from the other end and the noise actually surprised Rey. Silence stretched between them. “Father…everything okay?”

“We…well we hope so,” Wedge finally said. “This may seem odd but is there any chance you could get out of town for a while?”

“Alright, three things. That is incredibly odd. I’m actually already out of town. And why?”

Another sigh. “Luke doesn’t want you to know…which I think is stupid because you have a right to if you haven’t heard already. But the point is that Brendol Hux has escaped prison.”

Rey gulped as the words slowly sunk in. Sadly, they didn’t exactly surprise her. “When?”

“Yesterday night.”

Now that did surprise Rey. Kylo and Hux had run off days ago. Had they somehow known what was going to happen? Or at least suspected it? “Why do you want me out of town? Do you think he’s coming after our family?” asked Rey.

“No and if he did it would probably be after Luke, myself, and your aunt and uncle. No, from what the authorities have said, it seems more likely he’s actually looking for his son. Since he lives in the same city as you, I just think it would be safer if you left for a couple of days. Oh, and if Kylo doesn’t know yet, can you tell him please? Leia’s left a few messages about this but he hasn’t actually responded to any of them.”

“Yeah. No problem,” Rey got out. “Anything else?”

“Nothing, I just felt you needed to know this. Promise to call if anything happens?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Luke will probably call, checking in on you tomorrow and what not. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye,” Rey responded. Ending the call and slipping the phone into her pocket, Rey mulled over what to do and say to the others. She couldn’t keep them in the dark, she knew that. They were potentially heading in the same direction as an extremely intelligent, military trained murderer. Confronting her cousin was one thing but a convict was something completely different and Rey couldn’t allow her friends to go in unaware.

And what of Phasma? What did she know, if anything? Was she going after Hux because he ran away or because of what he was running from?

Rey kept silent until they had a room and had moved their bags into it. Poe was asking Phasma where they could grab some food but Rey interrupted with, “Guys, there’s something I need to tell you. Basically, I think this little road trip has come to an end.”

Finn frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I just got word that Hux’s dad has broken out of jail. It’s likely he’s searching for his son.”

Both Poe and Finn froze. The words seemed to trouble Phasma but she didn’t look surprised either.

“And I thought this trip couldn’t get weirder,” muttered Poe with a shake of his head.

“This trip didn’t just get weirder. It got dangerous,” Rey replied. “This guy is psychotic. I can’t ask anyone of you to continue with this.”

“Excuse me?” asked Finn. “You just told us a murderer is likely going in the same direction as us, or is at least looking for the same thing as us, and you expect us to just leave? You realize that if you keep heading forward, you’re putting yourself in danger too, right?”

“Of course I do but my cousin is with Hux! I don’t have a choice to turn back at this point.”

“Well neither do we,” Poe responded.

Rey let out a groan. “Don’t be stupid. This isn’t a game this—”

“I know my boyish good charms can get in the way sometimes, but I am older than Finn and you. Believe me when I say that I understand this isn’t a game,” replied Poe. “Now, I would say we should probably call the authorities and tell them where we think Hux may be so that way they can get him into protective custody or something, but this whole thing is yours and Phasma’s deal so it’s up to you what we do from here. Just know that Finn and I will stick to you no matter what.”

Finn gave a small shrug. “Well…”

Poe elbowed him.

Finn nudged him back with a grin before turning serious again and said, “Seriously though, we’ll stick with you guys no matter what. No way are you heading into the lion’s den without us.”

Rey sighed. The fact that her two best friends had just said that made Rey want to call the authorities then and there and be done with everything. She hated the very idea of putting them in danger, even more so that they were so willing to do this. Still, it wasn’t just her decision and she turned to Phasma, silently asking her what they should do.

Phasma looked up at the ceiling with her arms crossed as she tried to come to a decision.

It seemed like ages passed as Phasma simply let the thoughts run through her head. Slight twitches in her jaw and eyes showed that the decision wasn’t easy for her. After standing still for a while, she started to pace and Rey finally sat down on one of the beds, watching her go back and forth. Poe and Finn joined her and after several long minutes, Phasma finally stopped and turned to them.

“Contacting any authorities would likely only cause more problems,” Phasma replied. “I do not doubt it that Brendol Hux has found a way to monitor what the police are saying about his son. The moment the police know where Hux is, his father will too.”

Finn sighed, “That sounds a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?”

“Not when Brendol Hux is involved,” Phasma said. “One should always expected the implausible and unexpected when Hux’s father is involved. We shouldn’t call the police.”

Rey bit her bottom lip. Her first instinct was to protect her friends which, at the moment, was going against protecting Hux. However, as Rey looked into Phasma’s eyes, she watched as the older woman’s face softened just slightly. It was a plea, Rey realized, a plea to listen and follow her. Rey didn’t want to but one thing she had to admit was that if anyone knew how Hux and his family worked besides them, it was probably Phasma.

“I’m trusting you hear,” Rey said softly. “Please don’t make me regret this.”

Phasma bowed her head towards her. “I will do my best.”

Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, Rey fell back against the bed and looked up at the ceiling. “So…anyone still hungry?”

“Yeah,” said Poe, “but something tells me no one wants to eat out.”

All shook their heads.

“I’ll go find the nearest store and grab some things then,” Poe replied as he got up and grabbed his keys. “Coming with me, Finn?”

The other nodded and rather quickly, Phasma and Rey were left alone. Much like at Rey’s apartment, she lay on the bed as Phasma sat down beside her. Rey was the first to talk as she turned her head and said, “You knew.”

“I suspected it,” Phasma replied evenly.

“You should have told me either way. Hux’s dad isn’t just his problem. He’s my family’s problem too.”

“Brendol Hux could likely care less about your family,” said Phasma. “He is not one to hold a grudge, even if it was your family that led to him going to jail. They were a job, one that he failed, but which has no incentive now to be finished. All he cares about is his son.”

“And clearly Hux doesn’t feel the same way if he’s run in the opposite direction,” muttered Rey as she sat up. “What is the deal with that anyways? I thought Hux adored his father. I knew he at least did so at one point or another. I know he hated Kylo and myself for…forever simply because of who our parents were. What’s with this change?”

“It is of personal matters which I cannot disclose,” Phasma replied. “Please do not try and force me to explain more. However, I will say that Hux is not as two dimensional as you believe.”

Rey sighed and rubbed her eyes. Looking over at the older woman, she asked, “What exactly is Hux to you? I never really understood the relationship you had.”

“I believe the closest words I could apply to our relationship would be what close siblings share…that’s not perfect but it is the best I can do in describing it,” she said.

An idea popped into Rey’s head. She should have assumed this all along yet for whatever reason, it was only now that she was realizing it. “You love him.”

“Is that so surprising? Or does it seem impossible for the ice queen to feel anything?” asked Phasma with a pointed stare.

Rey blushed at hearing the words ‘ice queen’, knowing that Phasma was referring to the time she’d rudely called her that along with some other choices things once when Poe and Hux had been fighting. “Sorry about that.”

“No need. It was a while ago.”

“Still I…you say I’ve misjudged Hux but I think I’ve misjudged you too. You’re both just so good at closing anything and everything off that it’s just sometimes hard to imagine that anything is beneath the surface.”

“It’s a defense mechanism,” Phasma responded right away. “For myself, it’s how I dealt with family issues and bullying in school and in the military.”

“You were bullied? But I’ve seen you take on three guys at once!”

“Sometimes we do not have the luxury of throwing fists due to the consequences that would come afterwards, no matter how satisfying the punch might be.”

“I suppose so,” sighed Rey. She wanted to ask why Hux had created a defense mechanism to shut out others but decided that a) Phasma wouldn’t answer and b) her assumptions were probably right anyways. Instead, she asked, “Why do you shut everyone out though? Not everyone is cruel.”

“No, but they can be simpletons at times and I’d rather not associate with the likes of them.”

Rey snorted. “I suppose I should be happy then seeing as you’re kind enough to open up to me, even if it’s only a little.”

“Trust me Rey. You could never be a simpleton,” Phasma replied.

And then Rey’s stomach practically dropped as she saw a smile. Not just a small quirk of the lips or something sarcastic or anything but an actual full-lipped smile that brought out dimples that Rey had never seen. She’d always  thought of Phasma as attractive, who didn’t, but in that moment the word gorgeous popped into her mind and she had to look away to hide her blush.

“You should smile more often,” Rey mumbled.

“Perhaps I reserve that as well to only people who I think are worthy of it.”

Rey blushed harder at that but was unable to keep the smile on her own face from forming.


	5. An Origin Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know these chapters are taking a while to get out. Incredibly sorry about that. There's no excuse, just that I've really gotten side tracked with other stories and did burn out a bit on this one. But don't worry, it will get finished! Thank you for sticking around and reading. Please enjoy :)

After Poe and Finn had come back, the group ate and promptly decided to sleep, knowing that there was a lot of driving still ahead of them. Phasma actually tried to be polite and let Rey have the bed as Poe and Finn took the other queen but Rey just shook her head at that. With everything that they had already dealt with and everything that they would likely soon be dealing with, sharing a bed was trivial in comparison.

They woke up early, grabbed some snacks for the rode, and then headed out as quickly as possible. The atmosphere wasn’t anywhere near as relaxed as it had been yesterday. Now a new fear of the unknown remained above their heads. Nevertheless, Poe was successful in lightening the mood at key points, always the one to find the lightness in even the darkest situations.

He drove all day and they stopped at their next motel about fifty miles from the Alaska/Canadian border. Restocking on food again, they moved into their room. Poe and Finn curled up on their bed as Rey and Phasma on the right side of theirs, Rey near the head and Phasma at the foot.

“So, we’re almost to the place,” Poe said with a sigh.

Rey nodded. “We should get there around midday tomorrow. You know you both can turn back at any time, right? Phasma and I will find a different way if we have to.”

Finn snorted and shook his head. “Not a chance. You’re stuck with us.”

“What did I do to deserve you two,” chuckled Rey. She turned to Phasma curiously. “So, what are you going to do when you first see Hux?”

“What do you mean?” Phasma asked.

“Well, after I strangle Kylo for not asking his family for help, I’ll probably hug him to death. You?”

Phasma cocked her head to the side and seemed to consider her choices for a moment. “Same,” she finally replied.

Poe laughed. “You’re a lot funnier than people make you out to be Phasma.”

“I do find that I have excellent timing,” Phasma responded.

Laughing again, Poe asked, “So, how exactly did you meet Hux? I mean, you’ve told us you’re a family friend but how did that happen exactly?”

Phasma stared up at the ceiling as she considered on whether or not answering. She seemed to come to some sort of decision inside her head and finally replied, “After Hux’s father was given his sentence, his mother moved in to the house next to mine. She’d left the state due to everything. At the time, I was five.”

“So you guys were neighbors,” Finn said.

“In a way. I soon realized that Hux’s mother was fairly easy to deal with as she was often drugged or intoxicated and didn’t seem to mind me there.”

“Wait,” Rey quickly said. “What do you mean deal with?”

“Well, from a very early age my father was abusive and my mother didn’t do anything to stop it because it got the attention off of her,” replied Phasma. She said it in such a way that it was clear she wasn’t expecting sympathy. “When I was five, I managed to get out of the house and over to the neighboring one before Hux and his mother moved in. I quickly found that it was really the only safe place so when Hux’s mother did move in, I continued to hide in there. The first time she caught me, I thought I was done for, but she barely batted an eye. Unlike my father, she wasn’t physically abusive, just neglectful. When Hux was born, I took it upon myself to make sure he was warm, clothed, cleaned, fed, because more often than not his mother didn’t do that.”

“All from the age of five?” exclaimed Finn.

“Well, I was nearly six by then.”

“Uh uh,” muttered Poe, “don’t try to make this better than it is. That’s an awful way to live.”

“Of course it is,” Phasma replied evenly, “but it is also the past and nothing can be done about it.”

“But hold up,” Finn said. “You got into the military. You got honorably discharged and everything before going to work at the same place as Poe. From the way it sounds, you would have stuck with Hux to the very end.”

Phasma nodded in agreement. “I would have. However, not long after I’d turned seventeen, Hux was twelve at the time, his mother OD and he was whisked off to live with his mother’s parents who hadn’t been in contact with their daughter for some time. I wasn’t able to do anything, or even know where Hux was going because I was in a holding cell at the time.”

“Why?” asked Rey.

“Well, at this point my father had gravitated back to abusing my mother seeing as I was never there and nearly old enough to legally leave too. Because of my mother’s lack of help, I did not love her but I also did not want to see her die by my father’s hand and when I came home that night, it was very clear that that was his intent. I grabbed him and threw him off of her. His head hit the edge of the kitchen counter and he died instantly. After it was decided that it was in self defense, I left seeing as my eighteenth birthday was nearly there.

“With nowhere else to go and nothing to support me, I went into the military and succeeded in getting my schooling done there. Around the time that I got my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Hux actually found me. He always was rather resourceful and had apparently hacked his way through government records in search of me.”

“He just guessed that you were in the military?” asked Poe.

“Well, he researched mortician records for all states first.”

“Oh.”

“But yes, he knew that I had mentioned going into the military enough times. We both had actually. The only reason why I hadn’t been set on it before was because it would have meant leaving Hux. Nevertheless, we did manage to get in contact again. I still had to finish out my scheduled tour but that was cut short due to my injury and, with nowhere else to go, I moved to California with Hux. He helped me find a job and an apartment and…well you know the rest.”

Rey shook her head, utterly shocked by all that she had just heard. “That…”

“I’m not looking for pity,” Phasma said as she looked at her. “You asked and I simply told my story.”

“I wasn’t going to give you pity,” Rey quickly replied, “but it just…I guess it just makes sense. You I mean. And why you and Hux have always seemed so close.”

“No longer the cardboard cutout villain, am I?” asked Phasma with a raised eyebrow.

“Naw, still got to be a villain,” Poe replied. “You’re over six feet tall. That means you’re a villain.”

Phasma actually snorted at that and the slight movement caused the mood to lighten greatly. “So all tall people are evil?”

“Exactly,” said Poe.

“Hmm, I would think short people were the villains. Your evilness is more concentrated at all.”

“Hey!” cried Poe, Finn, and Rey at the same time. Then they all burst into laughter and Phasma released the smallest smile before it quickly disappeared from view.

After the laughter subsided, Poe said, “So, we have your origin story now and you told us some of Hux’s. Can you explain more?”

“I’ve probably already told you to much about his life already,” replied Phasma.

“Well,” said Rey, “I’ll admit that I want to know even more now but I also understand why you don’t want to say more if Hux asked you not too. Don’t worry. No more asking. Right guys?”

Poe and Finn both nodded.

“Thank you,” Phasma said with a small incline of her head.

“No problem,” Poe said. “So, tomorrow we’re going to hopefully run into Hux and Kylo. Rey, has one of your dads called, telling more? Or your aunt and uncle?”

“Nothing that would help us or let us know more about Brendol Hux,” Rey responded.

“Alright, so focusing on our elopees, how do you think we should approach this?” asked Poe.

“Well, no matter how we present ourselves, there’s undoubtedly going to be some type of argument whether it’s in hushed whispers or screaming into each other’s faces,” said Rey. “I actually haven’t spoken to Kylo in a while, not since his huge fight with his dad. He probably won’t be to happy to see me.”

“He’ll probably be happier about seeing you than us,” Finn said as he pointed to himself and Poe. “Maybe we should just stay in the car.”

“No way,” said Poe. “We’re all sticking together on this one.”

“Do you think Brendol Hux will jump out of a bush if we don’t?” asked Phasma rather sarcastically.

“ _No_ but we shouldn’t take unnecessary risks either. Shit always happens when people split up so we’re not doing that. Even if it means dealing with an angry Kylo and Hux.”

“Well, I can at least deal with Hux,” Phasma replied.

“That takes care of one then. I doubt anyone can truly deal with Kylo though,” sighed Rey. “But alright, we’ll head to the house, announce ourselves, and then hope things go well.”

“Which they of course won’t,” Finn said.

“Of course,” agreed Rey. “But it’s the best we can do now. Other than that, we might as well sleep.”

“Sounds like a good idea. I have to recharge for driving anyways,” Poe said with a yawn. He untangled himself from Finn so that he could get under the covers and Finn quickly followed where Poe wrapped himself around the other again.

Rey rolled her eyes as she scooted onto the other side of the bed. As Finn turned out the light on their side, Phasma and Rey got under the covers of their bed. Phasma turned out their light the four of them were thrust into darkness.

From previous late nights with Poe and Finn, Rey knew that they could fall asleep almost at the snap of the fingers when they were curled up and comfortable. Still, Rey waited a few more seconds until she heard the light snoring coming from Poe before she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“I thought I told you not to pity me,” Phasma said.

“I’m not. I just…I didn’t treat you very nicely. And to quote you, I did just think of you as a cardboard cutout villain.”

“I wasn’t…exactly welcoming to you either,” Phasma said.

“I suppose we both had our defenses up in a way.”

“I suppose we did.”

Silence grew after that and as Rey started to drift off to sleep, she suddenly came back to wakefulness when Phasma suddenly spoke again.

“Though this situation is not ideal,” Phasma said, “I am thankful that some good has come out of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve properly gotten to meet you.”

Not _you guys_ , not _you and Finn and Poe_ , just _you_. Rey couldn’t help the way that her stomach seemed curl in on itself and she was thankful for the darkness as it hid her blush.

“Yeah, I’m glad I’ve properly met you too,” Rey got out.

After that, the silence between them grew again, signaling that they should both get to sleep. The darkness kept Rey from really seeing anything but as she slipped into sleep, she liked to imagine that Phasma fell asleep with that incredibly rare, true smile on her face.

The next morning, the group did not rush to get to the road despite the fact that their destination was truly attainable now. There was a since of urgency to find Hux and Kylo yet even Phasma now seemed reluctant to make those final steps. On the one hand, if Hux and Kylo weren’t there and Rey’s assumption had been wrong, it meant the two of them were really alone and missing. On the other hand, a whole new and unappealing can of worms would be opened instead if they did find the two of them.

Because of this, Poe, Finn, Rey, and Phasma all ate their actual breakfast rather slowly rather than just grabbing snack and hitting the road. All four of them took their time in taking a shower as well but once that was over with, there wasn’t much else they could do to prolong their destination without outright saying the words.

Seeing as no one did specifically speak out against moving ahead, they finally got into Poe’s car and headed off again. The entire time, they all avoided anything to have to do with Kylo and Hux, taking the time to enjoy what would likely be their last moments of peace for some time.

During the drive to the border, Poe kept to the speed limit yet for whatever reason, once they were actually in Alaska, he sped up as if he’d gone from wanting to postpone the meeting to needing to know the truth almost desperately. Rey didn’t complain though. She was feeling the exact same way.

Driving through Alaska in the summer time meant that they really got to appreciate the natural beauty of the place but none of them were spending their time looking out their windows. Instead, they focused ahead and eventually veered off a highway and through several back roads. After a while, they turned onto a dirt road and after another five minutes passed before they finally stopped in front of a home, carefully nestled away in the woods.

The place was spacious enough for two families (that had originally been the whole point of it) as memories of trips with her parents, cousin, and aunt and uncle came flooding back for Rey. She hadn’t been back in a while and though it looked like the outside paint may need to be touched up a bit, for the most part it was still as intact and beautiful as she remembered it.

As Poe pulled to a stop, they all noted that there was no point in denying that Rey had been right as all eyes went to Kylo’s truck.

Turning off his car, Poe let out an audible sigh and said, “So, we ready for this?”

“Not at all,” groaned Finn.

Rey had to silently agree.

“Sadly,” said Phasma, “we don’t really have a choice. Come on, let’s make sure they’re really here and both in one piece.”

She got out first and slowly, the other three followed.


	6. Cousin to Cousin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally Kylo and Hux enter the scene! Thanks again for all the kudos and comments. I hope you enjoy this next chapter :)

The house was a large, three story thing that combined modern and rustic designs. The four of them walked up to the front door. There, Phasma hesitated, unsure how to proceed, but Rey quickly moved in front of her and simply keyed in the code, unlocking the door. She led the way into the home, the first room on the left being the living room. It was large enough for both her family and Kylo’s (and even all her grandparents when they were alive). There was a large counter where plenty could sit, couches and chairs, a large fireplace. The stairs were right in front of them and to the right led to what had been a play room when she had been little and a kitchen and dining room.

Rey looked around, the place seeming oddly unlived in.

“Ben-Kylo!” she yelled. Rey took several steps towards the kitchen, thinking that it might be a good place to look. Apparently she was right because Kylo jumped out from around the corner. That was enough to make Rey jolt but what she saw in his hands caused her to panic even more. “Shit Ben it’s-I mean Kylo! Christ! It’s just me!”

Holding a gun in his hands, he lowered it and looked behind her, glaring at their group. “You and an entourage.”

“Yeah whatever. Why the hell do you have a gun?!” Rey yelled.

“It’s not mine,” he stated as he glared at the group behind her.

“That doesn’t really help matters,” growled out Rey.

“It’s Hux’s.” As if on cue, Hux seemed to appear behind Kylo. Just as Rey had been taken aback by the sight of the gun, she was taken aback by Hux’s appearance. He actually had stubble growing (he was practically anal about staying clean shaven) and his hair was out of its usually gelled order.

Still, she refocused on Kylo, at least somewhat knowing how to handle him. “Listen, I don’t care who’s it is. Can you please put it away?”

For a second, it looked like he wouldn’t listen to her but he finally moved to slip it into the back of his pants.

“You know,” Poe said, “it’s not recommended that you—”

Kylo’s eyes practically threw daggers at him.

“Okay, never mind. Sorry I said anything,” Poe said with his hands up.

Hux spoke next and, despite his odd appearance, his voice still held that commanding, no nonsense tone that could get even the whiniest child to shut up. “Why are you with them Phasma?”

“I had to find you somehow. Rey helped immensely in that,” she replied. Her gaze traveled over Hux like she was cataloguing anything that seemed wrong or out of place before she said, “You’re father has broken out of prison.”

“I know,” Hux replied. It was almost like he was trying to sound flippant yet when Phasma had said the words, Rey had seen the slight flinch. It was an incredibly sad and human reaction and actually made Rey feel for him. Of course, that left when he rather rudely said, “Why the hell are the rest of you still here? You found us. Fine. Congratulations. Now leave.”

“Excuse me? Who’s family owns this place?” Rey asked. “I’m not going anywhere unless Kylo comes with me.”

“I’m not leaving,” Kylo spit out.

“Well it means Poe and I aren’t either,” shot back Finn. “Cause we’re sticking with Rey.”

Hux let a grimace pass across his face. “This does not _involve you_.”

“You made it involve us when you and Kylo left without reason,” Phasma shot back. Her words shocked Rey. Yes, they held truth but it was also clear that she was defending her and Finn and Poe by including herself with them.

Hux actually appeared hurt by what she had said. He looked like he might say more but abruptly pushed pass them and rushed up the stairs.

Kylo once again shot a glare, this time directed at Phasma, before turning back to Rey. He looked angry and irritated but also on edge and actually rather tired. Maybe it was that last fact that had him somewhat softening his face at Rey before he said, “You should leave.”

“Well, you probably should too but I know you’re not going too,” Rey replied.

“Perhaps,” Kylo said. “Why are you even here?”

“Because I thought you were running away from your problems with your dad and mom,” Rey sighed, “and I didn’t want them to find out because I knew that it would just cause more trouble.”

Kylo scoffed at that. “I wish it was that simple.”

“Then make it simple. Explain to me exactly what is going on,” Rey said.

He looked from her to everyone else before gesturing his head to the kitchen. Rey turned to the others and said, “Just uh…lounge out in the living room or something. I’ll be back in a second.”

Poe and Finn nodded but Phasma decided to head upstairs after Hux. With that decided, Rey followed Kylo away from her friends. They went past the play room, through the dining area, and into the kitchen. Poe and Finn would probably still hear them if they shouted but at least at this distance it would mostly be muffled. Rey walked over to the counter near the kitchen sink and pulled herself up onto it. Whenever someone had been cooking, that had always been her place to sit. Now she remained there, watching Kylo as he paced back and forth, his face wrought in concentration.

When it seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything, Rey let out a tired sigh and said, “Alright, I know this somehow involves Hux’s dad. How about you just explain it to me?”

“It’s personal.”

“Well that’s obvious,” Rey said with a roll of her eyes. “Why does Hux have a gun? Did he like…just get it? Why?”

“You said it yourself. This is about his dad. What do you think?” Kylo shot back.

“Hey, I’m just asking! No need to be rude about it.”

He let out a groan and lowered his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just…it’s been a stressful few days.”

“Did I just hear that right? Did you just apologize to me?” Rey asked.

“Oh fuck off,” he growled. “This isn’t some family dispute. This is a matter of life and death.”

“Well clearly. He brought a gun!” Rey yelled. “Just tell me why the hell he would bring a gun!”

“Because he’s afraid for his life! What do you think!?”

“But why? This is Hux we’re talking about!” cried out Rey. “You know, mister ‘violence is below me’ who decked you for calling his dad a bastard! He’s defended that monster left and right and now all of the sudden he has a gun because the guy’s loose! I would have thought he’d be the first to throw him a party.”

“Shut up! You don’t understand!”

“Then use your words!” Rey yelled. “You don’t want to talk things over with your dad? Fine! But you’re not doing that to me too! Now explain!”

“You don’t understand!”

“Then make me!”

“You weren’t there!” screamed Kylo. “You didn’t see what that monster did to him!”

“What! Are! You! Talking! About!”

“Just think! Think what about what Hux went through,” Kylo said, his voice loud but no longer shouting. He’d stopped pacing as well and had stopped in front of Rey. “He had no one, alright? Yeah, he had Phasma but he didn’t have anyone to look up to. Except his dad! Except the bastard that his drugged and boozed up mom would mumble stories to him about. The guy that kept sending money and letters and sometimes seemed like the only one to ever truly believe in him. The man who finally gave him a villain to the story, someone to hate and despise and blame his shitty life on. He fucking brainwashed Hux and yeah, Phasma was there but she wasn’t _there_.”

Rey let out a shaky sigh. “Makes your dad not look so bad. Huh?”

“Oh, don’t go and turn it around on me,” growled Kylo. “That’s not the point of this. The point is that Hux was well on his way to becoming exactly like his dad. But then I met him.”

“And I’m _sure_ that did wonders to his personality.”

“Alright, I know you get the god damn sarcasm from Wedge. Enough alright?”

“And I know your way of words is from Han. You’re point?”

Kylo just rolled his eyes and clearly resisted the urge to groan again. “Whatever. Me meeting Hux was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. I helped him become his own blasted person. I helped him to establish his own morals, his own thoughts other than his fathers. I helped him learn what it meant to care for people. And you know what happened the moment his letters started sounding a little different? What happened when he suggested things to his dad that went against his approval? He tried to get his fingers in Hux again but when it was clear that wasn’t going to work, his dad’s true nature came through.

“He never cared about Hux. He just cared about having something that he could control, that he could guide outside of his prison cell. He wanted a legacy for himself,” Kylo got out. “That is why he has a gun.”

Rey shook her head. It was a lot to take in. “So Brendol Senior isn’t looking for his son for some happy family reunion, he’s looking to hurt him.”

Kylo actually laughed at that. “Hurt him? Shit Rey! This is the guy who shot our Grandpa Anakin, that tried to kill our grandmother and practically the rest of our family. He’s not going to hurt Hux. He’s going to kill him!”

“But Hux is his only child. Even if he’s changed from what he expected, he still—”

“Hux is a lost cause to his dad now,” Kylo interrupted. “In his father’s mind, there’s no point in keeping him alive.”

“But if Hux is gone, then his ‘legacy’ is gone.”

“He’s probably figured out another way then.”

“This is insane,” Rey muttered. “Please tell this is all a lie and it’s just because you’re pissed at Uncle Han.”

“I am pissed at him. But that’s not why we’re here.”

“Fine but I want to know why would you run then. Hmm? Why run here? Why not go to the police with the story and the threatening letters?”

“Because you haven’t seen what his dad is like. Yeah, we’ve heard the stories from our parents but you haven’t seen how much fucking power he can wield just through a god damn letter alone. Telling the police might have hindered him but it wouldn’t have stopped him. If anything, it would have just put an even bigger target on Hux’s back than there is now.”

“Wait a second. You aren’t out here hiding from the guy. You’re waiting for him to show up!” exclaimed Rey.

“Doesn’t matter how far we went. He would have found Hux anyways. The only reason why I chose here is because I know the area. It may just put us on level playing ground,” Kylo replied.

Rey couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She felt like she was going into shock. “You plan on killing Hux’s dad.”

He gave her a ‘duh’ face.

“But that’s murder!”

“What do you think killing someone means Rey? You’re not eight anymore.”

“And you’re not a murderer! You can’t be serious,” she shot back.

“How can I not be? Even if the police did get a hold of him, he’d just end up in jail again and then get out.”

“How many times can a guy his age even do that though? He’s like our grandfather’s age!”

“All that means is he knows that his time is short. He’s sat in jail this long because he figured his son would be his legacy. Since that obviously didn’t work out, he’s had to change plans. He’ll kill Hux, one way or another, unless I kill him first.”

“And Hux is _okay with this_?”

“Of course he’s not fucking okay with this! What you just saw was probably the most normal he’s acted the entire time we’ve been here. But that’s all it was. Acting! He’s terrified and doesn’t know what to do. But I know. I’m going to keep him safe.”

“You’d throw your life away for that ginger twat?”

“Shut up alright! Just shut up!”

“You’ll go to jail!”

“So what?! I love him ok! I love him and I’m going to protect him!”

“What about Han and Leia? What about my dads, our grandparents? You could get sentenced to life! Everything you’ve ever known just stripped away because of Hux!”

“I love him!” yelled Kylo. He covered his face with his hands, pulled at his hair as his shoulders bunched together. It almost seemed like he was starting to cry but when he finally revealed his face again there were no tears. “I love him and I can’t just stand around and do nothing.”

“Even if that act is unforgiveable?” whispered Rey.

“Yes.”

In that moment, she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to run to him and hug him. Wanted to slap him across the face and tackle him to the ground. She couldn’t tell if the turning in her stomach was anguish or disgust.

Maybe Kylo saw that, maybe he could tell how confused and uncertain she was because he just shook his head and muttered, “Go home.”

It was a command but one which Rey knew she couldn’t follow. “I’m not leaving you.” So what if she didn’t know how to see him right now? He was her cousin. Besides, if she stayed, then perhaps she’d have a chance to change his mind.

“You shouldn’t be here when it happens.”

“If I leave, I’m tell anyone and everyone. I’ll tell Uncle Han. I’ll make it impossible for this to continue.”

The kindness which Kylo had just shown her disappeared as his eyes narrowed. “All you would be doing is putting those people’s lives in danger.”

“Then so be it! You’re not getting rid of me,” Rey shot back.

“And your friends? What will you do about them?”

Rey’s face dropped. “I’ll figure out a way to make them leave.”

“I know Dameron and his blasted boyfriend. Once they make up their mind, there’s no going back on it. You stay, then they stay, and then they’ll be put in harm’s way,” Kylo replied.

“I’ll get them to leave.”

“No you won’t,” Kylo replied as he crossed his arms. “It’s either leave the cousin in danger of have your two best friends in danger. That’s the real option you have here.”

“Oh you could stop being such a stubborn prick and come with me,” Rey said.

“Then the same goes to your friends. Nothing you say or do can get me to leave here. Not unless doing so will somehow be safer for Hux.”

“Then I’ll figure out a way,” Rey replied.

Kylo just snorted. “You wish.”


	7. A No-Win Situation

Kylo ended the conversation by walking off, probably going upstairs to find Hux. Rey couldn’t help but stare at the gun, resting in the waistband of his pants as he moved away. An icy dread filled her stomach and bile rose in her mouth. She decided to stay in the kitchen for a moment to try and collect her thoughts on how she was going to convince Finn and Poe to leave, but not longer after Kylo had left, the other two came rushing in.

“Hey,” Poe said, walking over and leaning against the counter. “I know yelling was to be expected but that was a lot of extra yelling.”

“Things didn’t…exactly go as planned,” Rey admitted.

“So, what are we going to do next?” asked Finn. “Is there going to be more shouting or should we settle in somewhere and—”

“You’re both leaving.”

Poe snorted. “Been there, tried that. So what’s next?”

“No I mean…you guys have to leave. This isn’t some hideaway or something. Brendol Hux is coming here,” Rey replied.

“Well,” said Finn, “we figured that the guy would be looking for his—”

“No I mean he’s definitely coming here,” interjected Rey. “Kylo wants him to come here. He thinks that he’ll have an upper hand in familiar territory and then he plans on killing the guy.”

“Ok.”

Rey’s and Finn’s heads whipped around to Poe.

“What?” Poe asked. “The guy’s a monster.”

“It doesn’t mean he deserves to die,” Finn replied.

“And you think he deserves to live?” asked Poe.

“Well no-I mean…I don’t…I’m not really—”

“Some people just don’t deserve to live,” Poe sighed. “Plain and simple.” When Finn and Rey just continued to stare at him, he added, “There’s a reason there’s a death sentence. I mean, we can argue back and forth about what’s right and what isn’t but the fact of the matter is that people do have the right to defend themselves at any costs necessary.”

“So Kylo has to kill him?” asked Rey.

“From my understanding, Hux’s dad is not the kind of guy to stop. Even if the police managed to shove him in jail, he’d probably still get out and come after Hux. He was a military operative, one of the best, and he worked for Sheev Palpatine of all people. This isn’t a choice of whether the guy should die or not but which life matters more. Hux’s or his dad’s.”

“But—”

“Sorry Rey, but as awful as that sounds, you sometimes have to decide between two lives. Yeah, there are chances to save everyone but that doesn’t always work. Now, I know Hux isn’t a great guy but he’s not a war criminal, US traitor, or murderer. I think the choice makes sense. And as much as I would love to throw a good swing at Hux, I would never wish the wrath of Brendol Hux on the man.”

Rey looked away. She didn’t want to admit it but Poe was right. Rey didn’t want anyone to die but if she had to choose… “But does it have to be Kylo?”

“Even if it is him, he can claim it was self-defense,” Poe replied. “No one gets stuck in jail. We all walk away fine.”

“But…killing someone…”

“Hey some people can’t take it, others can,” Poe replied. “I don’t know which Kylo is but I do know that guy has a one-tracked mind. If he really loves Hux and wants to protect him, then that’s exactly what he’s going to do.”

Finn let out a soft sigh and nodded. “That is true.”

“Well what about another way—”

“I don’t know Rey. I just honestly think this is one of those situations where none of the options look that great,” said Poe. “But we still have to choose.”

“I…suppose,” sighed Rey. She looked away for a moment but then added, “You guys can’t be put in harm’s way though.”

“We’re not leaving you Rey,” Finn quickly said. “I understand that you want to protect us but we want to protect you too. We’re not leaving.”

She shook her head. “This is a losing battle isn’t it?”

“Afraid so,” Poe replied.

“Then…then…oh hell let’s just go grab the bags from the car. I don’t know how long we’re going to be here,” Rey sighed. “And have either you taken that into account? That we could miss the first days of school or you could miss work?”

“I think this is just a bit more important,” Finn said.

“Well I tried,” muttered Rey. “Come on.”

They went back outside to Poe’s car and grabbed their things. Rey also swung Phasma’s bag over her shoulder and then guided the group up the stairs.

“This place really is huge,” Finn muttered.

“Big family,” Rey replied.

The second floor held a game room and another sitting room along with some bedrooms. Seeing as the others weren’t there and were likely on the third floor, Rey directed Poe and Finn to one of the bedrooms and then grabbed her own. The one she’d given to the boys had been a guest room commonly used by her dad’s and aunt’s godparents. The godfather had passed away about a year ago but Breha Organa was still alive. Rey knew that she occasionally visited Grandpa Anakin.

The room that Rey had grabbed was actually the one she had always used once she’d gotten old enough to want her own room. Some of her old items were still there. She momentarily reminisced in the land of memories as she went over old books and toys. There was even a teddy bear that she’d forgotten about. It had always been something to look forward to when she’d been younger, one of those constants that had always been there no matter when they’d gone.

Rey was looking through one of the desk draws when she heard a slight knock on the door. Turning around, she saw Phasma.

“Poe said you had my bag?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” Rey said. She grabbed the bag and handed it over to Phasma.

As she took it and swung it over her shoulder, she said, “So you and the lovebirds are staying.”

Even though it was a statement, Rey felt like she had to answer. “Yeah though I’m still trying to figure out a way to get them to leave.”

“So Kylo told you why they’re here,” Phasma said.

Rey almost retorted how she didn’t appreciate that Phasma had kept that from her but she noticed the tick in Phasma’s jaw and noted her tone of voice (it was a slight change but she was able to pick it up). “You’re angry,” she said. “You didn’t know.”

Phasma seemed shocked that Rey could pick that up. “No…I did not.”

“Come on. There’s a workout area in the garage,” Rey replied. She led the way, not looking to see if Phasma was following. She hoped the woman was but the sudden reminder of the welcoming punching bag waiting downstairs was really her main concern at the moment. It had been nice going back through her younger years and childhood but for the moment, there was still a lot to be angry about and she needed to get it out rather than bottling it up like she was doing.

The garage really wasn’t a garage anymore, having long been converted into a workout area. Most of the time had been used for fencing, a family pastime that her grandfathers and her Great Aunt Ahsoka had passed down. Nevertheless, the punching bag was a welcomed object and more personal than the open matt and the waiting foils. Grandpa Ani had been the first one to teach Rey how to throw a proper punch, taught her the stance to keep and how to hold herself too. Aunt Leia had given her some helpful pointers as well but her Dad had never really been one for hand-to-hand combat. Luke was better at fencing and flying anyways.

Once in the garage, Rey went straight for the punching bag. She grabbed the wraps that were waiting there and prepared her hands. She did a few practice punches before laying into the bag. Truthfully, she was so fully concentrated on it that she completely forgot that she’d offered Phasma to come with her. When Rey finally took a break though to brush her hair out of her face, Phasma announced her presence again, causing Rey to jump.

“You hit well.”

“You seem surprised,” Rey said, getting over her shock rather quickly.

“I expected that you would just wail on the bag. I didn’t think you actually knew how to hold yourself.” The words weren’t condescending but actually sounded rather impressed.

“Have you really just been watching me this entire time?”

“Yes. I apologize if it’s made you uncomfortable. There’s just…nothing else for me to do at the moment.”

Rey allowed herself to smile at that. “I totally get that. And you just surprised me is all. Want to take a turn?”

They switched and Rey leaned against a near wall, watching as Phasma took her stance. She used strength more than speed and it was interesting to see how their movements were similar and different. At least, that was the excuse Rey was giving herself.

When Phasma finally stopped, she stepped away from the back and began to take off the wraps Rey had let her borrow.

“So,” said Rey as way of starting up the conversation again, “you didn’t know that Kylo was planning for Brendol Hux to come here.”

“No,” Phasma stated. “I knew that the man would likely be after Hux but I assumed that they were running from him. I would have told you if I knew something this dangerous could occur.”

Rey gave a slight nod at that. “Well, thank you. Though if you had known and told me, I don’t know if anything would have changed.”

“Likely not,” replied Phasma. “I simply wish there was something to do.”

“Have you tried convincing Hux to do something else?”

“Yes, and doing so would be fairly easy. He is not so sure of this plan like Kylo is.”

“Then we can do that,” said Rey. “And then we can get some official force here and—”

“Convincing Hux won’t convince your cousin. Hux has apparently been uncertain about this from the beginning but that has not given Kylo pause. He believes he is doing what is necessary…and I can’t say I blame him.”

“Then you do agree with him,” Rey mournfully sighed.

“I agree that Brendol Hux needs to die. But I do not think that Kylo should be the one to do it,” Phasma responded.

“What are we—”

“When Brendol Hux gets here, I will kill him.”

“Phasma! I can’t ask you to do something like that!”

A rather confused look came across her face. “You have not asked me of such a thing Rey. It is my choice.”

“But—”

“Not everyone can kill someone and return whole. It does not matter what the reason may be, cold blood, self defense, duty, some people simply cannot take a life and come back from it. I believe Kylo is one of them and I believe a small part of him knows this too,” Phasma replied. “Besides, no matter if it is the right thing to do, I don’t think Hux would be able to handle the fact that his boyfriend killed his father.”

“And somehow it makes it easier that it’s his best friend instead?” questioned Rey.

“Likely no…but I’ve seen how Hux looks at Kylo. I don’t believe in soul mates but if there is such a thing, then they would be it. I am expendable. Kylo is not.”

Rey shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. “Expendable? How can you even think that? I don’t…I don’t know how Hux thinks, I’m probably the last person that does, but from what I’ve learned in these past few days, I doubt he could live without you anymore than Kylo.”

“Perhaps, but for now, this is our best choice,” Phasma replied.

“But to kill Brendol Hux…”

“I was a soldier,” Phasma reminded Rey, her voice turning momentarily gentle. “It would not be my first time.”

Rey couldn’t believe she had forgotten something like that. Shaking her head, she muttered, “But will you come out of this alright?”

Cocking her head to the side, Phasma replied, “Though your concern is unexpected, it is appreciated. But do not worry Rey. His death will affect me even less than any life I took on the battlefield.”

“I don’t…I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“You haven’t been in such a situation. I would be more worried if you were completely fine with his murder.”

Rey let out a little half snort at that. She supposed that Phasma was right. Still… “Are you sure that there isn’t anything else to do?”

“No, but we may not have time to find another path.”

Her shoulders dropped, partially in defeat but also acceptance. “Alright, then I think I should get you familiar with the area.”

“That would be helpful,” Phasma agreed.

“Come on then. I’ll show you all the rooms in the house and then walk you around the grounds,” Rey sighed.

She left the work room and then took Phasma through everything. She stopped by with Poe and Finn for a second just to make sure they were doing alright, but avoided the closed door on the third floor that Kylo and Hux were undoubtedly behind. She’d deal with them later.

After that, she took Phasma outside and they walked around the forested area that surrounded the large vacation home. Despite it being summer, it was still a relatively cool day and when they finally got back to the house, Rey was thankful for the warmer interior.

“So, uh you can have any room that you want and just use whatever shower is nearest. It doesn’t really matter.”

“Thank you,” Phasma replied with a slight incline of her head. “What you showed me today will help immensely. I should be able to form several plans that to defend ourselves and predict how and where Brendol Hux will come from.”

“Glad I could help,” Rey replied. “I um…don’t know if you’re hungry but I could probably scrounge up something in the kitchen. I’m assuming Kylo and Hux brought something with them and I know that there are some canned things back there too.”

“That would be much appreciated. I’ll come down to help after I form a basis for my plan.”

“Thanks,” said Rey with a grin. She watched Phasma leave before she hurried back over the kitchen. Though cooking wasn’t really her thing, the idea of doing something so normal (and oddly enough with Phasma too) was extremely appealing.


	8. Eating Dinner Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just a quick note that, I'm not positive yet, but I may be cutting this story a little shorter than 15. I'm not positive yet but I don't want to make this drag out or anything. I'll probably know by the next chapter if it will change. Other than that, thanks for reviewing and commenting and leaving kudos as always. Please enjoy :)

Thankfully, Hux and Kylo had grabbed a few things and there were the preserves to go through as well. Poe and Finn had popped up while she’d done this and had helped her figure out exactly what she could make out of what they had. About when they had everything they would need out, Phasma finally appeared again.

Her hair was damp and had a slightly ruffled look to it like she’d just come out of the shower. It took away that very military-esque look she usually wore and made her more human. She walked over and looked at what lay on the counter.

“Either this is an extremely odd spread or you’re making a stew.”

Rey grinned at that and replied, “Stew. Come on, let’s do this.”

Poe and Finn seemed rather surprised that Rey had invited Phasma to join and even more so that she agreed. Nevertheless, they both quickly got into the groove of things and the four worked around each other, cracking open cans and cutting items up. Once everything had been prepared and thrown into the pot, a rather unexpected surprise appeared.

Hux had walked in and was awkwardly standing by the door. He was stiff and looked rather distant but Rey had an odd feeling that he wanted to join them.

“Hey, where’s my cousin?” asked Rey.

“He passed out. Usually does after a fight,” Hux muttered as he kept his voice rather low. Rey had a feeling that he actually wasn’t referring to the one that had happened between her and Kylo. “What are you doing?”

“Dinner,” Phasma replied. “It should be ready in…an hour.”

“Oh.” Hux turned to go but oddly enough, Poe stopped him.

“Hey, you can stay down here with us if you want,” he offered. “We were probably going to hang at the kitchen table, play a game or two, stuff like that if you want.”

Hux looked like he’d rather run in the opposite direction yet he did hesitate and that gave Phasma enough time to add, “If I remember correctly, Rey said they had a game of _Risk_ down here. We could play that.”

Though Rey could care less about that game, she saw what Phasma was doing. _Risk_ was a game that centered around strategy and no one excelled at strategy like Hux. It was an attempt to get the man to stay with them and it seemed to be working.

“Yeah. You think you can beat Poe?” Rey quickly added. She was giving Hux a challenge and she knew that the man could never back down from that.

“Why not. I have nothing better to do.”

Rey grinned at that and Poe quickly replied, “You’re on.”

She went to go grab the game and set it out on the kitchen table that easily fit the five of them. Despite still remaining stiff and rather distant, Hux quickly got into a groove. Of course, Poe and Finn and Rey smiled and laughed and joked (even Phasma joined in a few) but Hux played it like it was a job, analyzing every move and planning ten moves ahead. It made Rey roll her eyes a few times but seeing as it was having a positive reaction on Hux, she certainly didn’t try and interfere.

Going back and forth to check on the stew, it was done about when Phasma had said. Rey grabbed bowls and passed them around. As everyone grabbed their portion, Kylo seemed to appear at of nowhere, actually causing Finn to jump.

“Jesus! Make a noise next time,” muttered Finn as he took a few steps away.

Kylo just glared at him like it was his own fault for jumping. He walked over to the pot and looked into it. Raising an eyebrow at Rey, he said, “Well…it looks edible.”

“First off, I’m not that bad. Second of all, I did have help,” sighed Rey as she hit him in the shoulder.

“Hmm, the help would explain it,” Kylo simply replied. He grabbed a bowl and spooned himself some before walking off. Rey quickly grabbed her own and followed him out of the room.

“Going to join us?”

Kylo looked at her as if she’d just asked him to cut off his own leg.

“Hux is sitting with us. And we’re playing _Risk_. There’s room for one more,” she tried. When he still just stared, Rey quickly said, “Please? This isn’t some masterful tactic to try and change your mind or anything. Just…can we please sit and pretend we’re a family or something?”

Kylo let out a small huff like it was physically hurting him but nodded anyways and followed Rey back to the dining room.

It was clear from Hux’s expression that he was surprised that Kylo came in and sat by him but that his presence was appreciated as well. Phasma sat with Kylo and Hux on one side and Rey with her boys on the other. It made it feel like there was a clear divide between them which Rey supposed there was. Nevertheless, when she pushed the game between them and swept it clean, it did seem to bring everyone together.

Hux still played like he was a general commanding his troops, Kylo complained constantly, Poe kept making up stories for his troops, Finn refused to attack Rey or his boyfriend, and Phasma mostly remained quiet until she made a move that majorly hurt someone else. All in all, there was a lot of yelling back and forth and accusations thrown every now and then yet it was oddly pleasant and a nice change of pace. Rey found that she was enjoying herself and soon the group finished eating though they gladly continued on with their game.

When Hux won again, they decided to call it an end and started putting up the pieces. At least Rey, Poe, Finn, and Phasma did. Hux just left with a curt nod and Kylo quickly followed.

“Well that was rude,” muttered Finn.

“Hey, I’m just surprised they stuck around at all,” Poe replied as he pushed all the pieces into their designated bags. “At least no one tried to strangle anyone.”

“That is true,” chuckled Rey as she went to the kitchen and started putting all things into the dishwasher. However, midway from doing that, her phone rang and she quickly pulled it out only to wince at who it was. Letting out a soft sigh, she answered it. “Hey Aunt Leia.”

“Hello Rey, how are you?”

“As best as can be expected. What about you?” asked Rey.

“I suppose I’m doing alright…I know you have talked with Ben-or I suppose Kylo. How is he?”

“He’s…alive?” Rey actually heard a slight chuckle from her aunt at that and Rey gave a slight half laugh too. “Sorry it’s just…well he’s being himself. Can I say more?”

“No, I suppose not,” murmured Leia. “It was a long shot I guess but I also wanted to see how you were doing as well. Really, it does seem that Brendol Hux’s escape won't involve you at all but I know it can be a scary thing.”

 _Oh if only she knew_ , thought Rey. She had to resist the urge to laugh at the irony. “Yeah, well he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to hold grudges so I guess we’re safe.”

“Yes though I will feel safer with him behind bars again,” Leia replied. There was a slight pause before she asked, “How was your grandfather? Hmm? I know you saw him recently.”

Rey talked with Leia a bit about her visit with Anakin before the conversation slowly went back to Kylo.

“Well, if you talk to him again, just tell him that his father wants to talk to him.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at that. “You sure you’re not just trying to set them up Aunt Leia?”

She gave a tired, soft chuckle. “I know better than to do that. He really does want to talk to him.”

“I’ll tell him then…but I can’t promise anything.”

“I know you can’t Rey. It was good to hear from you. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay bye.”

With a sigh, Rey hung up and finished helping the others clean up. After starting the dishwasher, she headed up to the third floor and went to the room with the closed door. She knocked and after a moment, Kylo poked his head out.

“What?”

“Well I just talked to your mom, says hi by the way, but uh…your dad wants to talk to you at some point,” Rey got out.

“No he doesn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do,” Kylo muttered and he tried to shut her out but Rey quickly shoved her foot between the door and the frame.

“First off, ow! Second, just consider it alright? That’s all I’m asking.”

“Hmm, considered it…still no.” He pushed her foot out of the way and then slammed the door before she could say more.

Rey just let out a growl and then stomped back downstairs where Poe and Finn still were. They’d gone into the living room and while Finn messed with his phone, Poe was reading a book he’d taken with him. Rey thought about joining them but then changed directions midstride and went to the garage.

The plan was to spend the rest of her evening there, take a shower, head to bed, and then hope that she woke up from this nightmare. Instead, she was rather surprised to find Phasma. The woman seemed to notice Rey’s shock and quickly said, “I apologize if I’ve over stepped my boundaries. I usually work out in the mornings and nights and thought it would be alright to come here again.”

“No, not at all. Was just a little unexpected is all,” Rey replied.

She went to the punching bag, her usual go to object as Phasma continued to lift weights. After about five minutes of that though, Rey asked, “Do you spar?”

“Not often,” Phasma responded as she cocked her head to the side. “With weapons or empty handed?”

“Empty.”

“I have enjoyed a good spar simply hand to hand.”

Rey grinned and quickly went to where the mats were neatly folded up in a closet. Phasma raised an eyebrow at that but simply went and helped, grabbing another mat to place on the floor. Rey double checked that nothing was to close where someone might bump their head and then took her shoes and socks off.

Phasma mimicked her and then walked onto the mats. “What rules would you like to go by?”

“Uh…nothing permanent but contact is allowed.”

“Hmm feisty are we?”

Rey wasn’t sure why but the way Phasma said that brought a pleasant curl to her stomach. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.”

Standing in a ready stance, Phasma got into her own stance. Rey watched as Phasma shifted her weight and like that they were off. Right away, Rey learned that Phasma was insanely fast. Rey had to use her speed and weight to match just a normal punch for Phasma but Rey decided she didn’t have to go with standard punches and kicks. She started to focus more on dodging and danced around Phasma instead, trying to ware her out and get a good view of her backside.

They both got in a few strikes with Rey still unable to get Phasma in the back when another idea came to her. Just as Phasma was widening her stance, likely for a roundhouse, Rey dove between her legs and jumped up behind her. Phasma turned but Rey still managed to land a solid kick to her side before she could react. From there, Rey tried to jump on her back to throw her to the ground but Phasma grabbed her and pulled her over.

Rey grabbed onto Phasma’s tank top though, not allowing herself to fall, and got in another good punch thanks to the close proximity. Phasma easily shook her off though and then did a side kick that should have sent Rey flying backwards. However, as soon as she was sure that she was going to land flat on her back, Phasma’s hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her back in.

For a moment, Rey thought it was to get in another strike but Phasma didn’t do that and Rey found herself incredibly unbalanced. The momentum drove her back into Phasma but she stood like a rock and Rey caught herself.

Breathing heavily, Rey looked up at her with a questioning glance, wondering why Phasma had stopped the fight and what that move had been about.

“I didn’t want you to hit your head,” she said simply, a small half smile on her face. She slowly released her grip on Rey’s wrist but didn’t step back, instead waiting to see if Rey had her footing yet.

She did and after another deep breath, she stepped back and grinned. Her face felt red though and she couldn’t tell if it was from exhaustion or a blush that was creeping about her cheeks. Nevertheless, she said, “That was awesome.”

“It was rather enjoyable.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I guess we have more in common than I thought.”

“Well…this and an aptitude for fixing machines,” Phasma replied, referring to her own job and Rey’s schooling.

“That’s right. I’ve never gotten to work on a plane. Always wanted to work on Uncle Han’s but he barely allows anyone to touch his baby,” Rey chuckled.

Phasma turned her head upwards for a second, working on some conflict in there, but she eventually asked, “Would you like to help me one day?”

Rey’s eyes went wide at the possibility. “Really! Can you do that?”

“I’d probably have to sign some papers, give it a good reason like you’re interning or something, but yes, I could.”

“That would be…I mean wow that would just be amazing!” Rey said excitedly.

“I am glad to hear it. It gives us something to look forward to after this whole ordeal is over.”

Rey continued to grin. “Definitely. If there’s one good thing to come out of all this, it’s that I’ve finally gotten to talk to you. Like, properly. Who knows. Maybe we have even more in common. What kind of music do you listen to?”

Phasma seemed slightly confused by the question and didn’t answer.

“Please tell me you listen to music.”

“I do,” Phasma said. “I am just curious as to why you would want to know.”

Rey shrugged. “Just curious I guess. Like what do you even do for fun? Or to relax or when you have spare time? Or do you just fix planes and watch Hux twenty-four/seven?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Rey flinched, afraid that she might have come off as condescending. However, Phasma actually chuckled and replied, “Sometimes it does feel like an around the clock job. But other than those too things…”


	9. Odd Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading. I did decide to change this to 12 chapters though because I don't want to drag this out to much. But anyways, thanks again and please enjoy.

Rey and Phasma ended up sitting on the mat that they had just fought on, talking for a good hour before it seemed like a shower and a bed was practically calling Rey’s name. Admittedly, Rey had talked more than Phasma but it was still definitely one of the longest conversations she had ever had with the woman, certainly the longest solo conversation.

There had been a good bit of coaxing and moments that felt like pulling teeth but Rey had got Phasma to talk more about herself. Not her tragic past or her time in the military but simply her. Rey found out that she hated rain and thunderstorms, that there was a deli near work that she always visited, and that her favorite book was Brave New World and she’d read it about fifty times if not more. It really made Phasma feel human.

And despite how crazy everything was, Rey really was enjoying this strange, new connection to Phasma. She looked forward to getting to see Phasma at work, at being able to see her in action and actually get to help her with one of the planes. She looked forward to the meetings after that, if there were any. Rey didn’t want to get her hopes up but she’d be lying if she wasn’t optimistic.

After their talk, Rey went up to shower and then promptly fell asleep. The next day, they sat down as a group and started to plan the best way to defend themselves while also talking about how Brendol Hux would likely approach the situation.

As they talked, Rey remembered how Kylo had mentioned that Hux was not all for killing his dad and she could clearly see that as they planned everything. Hux didn’t say much despite the fact that he was the expert strategist. He just kept a stone cold face and it was difficult to tell if any of the words were actually processed in his head or just went in one ear and out the other.

Rey had a huge urge to console him, even if she had hated his guts for the longest time. Yet now she just wanted to hug him, though the thought was simultaneously shiver inducing as well. Still, when she got a chance, she followed Hux away from the crowd.

Hux had gotten up to use the restroom so Rey waited a little before she followed him.

Waiting by the door, it took her a moment to realize that there wasn’t any sound. Frowning, she knocked and when Hux didn’t respond, she tried the door handle. What her eyes fell on had to be the most shocking thing she’d ever seen. Hux was sitting on the floor, tears streaming down his face.

For a moment, Rey thought to call out for Kylo but just barely stopped herself. Instead, she acted on instinct. She closed the door behind her and sat down. Rey didn’t say anything. She waited, sensing that Hux had to speak first if anything was going to be said.

After a few seconds, it appeared she was right as Hux started whispering, “I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.”

Rey stayed silent for a moment longer before whispering back, “You’ve told Kylo that, right?”

“Of course I’ve fucking told Kylo that. It hasn’t changed anything,” Hux replied as he hugged his knees and ducked his face. “He says it’s the only way.”

“Maybe it is,” murmured Rey.

“I know it is.”

“But—”

“He won’t fucking stop. I know he won’t but I can’t…since my grandparents passed…he’s all I have left,” got out Hux, his voice hoarse and utterly torn.

“Is he really?” asked Rey carefully.

“Of course he fucking is. Not like there’s some god damn unknown cousin,” Hux replied. He wasn’t raising his voice but it was definitely the most vulnerable Rey had ever seen him.

Still, she focused on the his words for the moment and said, “Hey, family isn’t just about blood. I know that above anyone.”

“But he’s my _dad_ …”

“I personally don’t think anyone should die but…but I’m not the one with the gun,” Rey replied. “And neither are you. You’re not the one killing your dad. Think…about it like your dad has been dead, long ago.”

Hux looked at her with a frown, tears still going down his face but finally slowing.

“I mean, even if it wasn’t his true self or if he was being manipulative and whatnot, that was your dad back then. But he’s gone now. The thing coming after you isn’t…he isn’t your dad.”

Closing his eyes, Hux looked away and muttered, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Before Rey could really get offended though, he quickly added, “But it…helps. Even if it’s idiotic.”

Rey gave Hux a kind smile and then grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight. He hesitated but then slowly squeezed back before saying, “Let’s never have a moment like this again.”

“I agree,” Rey chuckled. She stood and held out her hand which Hux gratefully took. “Just know that you’re not alone in this. Not in your feelings and not in how conflicting all this is. But Kylo does care for you. So does Phasma. And hey, by extension, that means I’ve got to care for you.”

“That’s skewed logic but something tells me you don’t care.”

“Of course,” Rey smiled. “Come on. Let’s go join the others now.”

She opened the door and pulled Hux out of it and back to everyone else. It was clear that they had noticed how long they’d been gone and Kylo looked on the edge of his seat, even with Hux in his sights again. Nevertheless no one asked about Hux’s tearstained face or about how Rey had been dragging him in by her hand. They simply went back to the plan and came up with a coherent idea as to what to do.

It was agreed that Brendol Hux would likely go about everything rather directly as he probably didn’t expect much of anything to be in his way. With that in mind, they worked around exit strategies and places to hide and the best stations to wait with a loaded gun and fire on the man. Phasma also spoke about her plan to kill Brendol Hux instead of Kylo which definitely led to some arguing. At first, Kylo claimed she just wanted the gun for herself to stop him from doing the act in the first place.

However, after she convinced him that she really wanted to be the one to finish the job, she also convinced him to give her the gun when she told him she was a better shot after all, what with being in the military and everything.

Kylo grumbled about it but eventually handed it over. Phasma checked it over before giving a solid nod. From there, lunch was called for and Poe, Finn, and Rey went to get it ready. Though nobody said anything, it seemed that Hux needed a moment and Kylo and Phasma were only to ready to console him more if need be.

Rey was pretty happy about that though as it finally gave her, Poe, and Finn some alone time. She’d been so caught up with everything that it felt good to just hang out with her friends. At first, they joked as they gathered stuff for lunch and messed around the kitchen. Neither Poe nor Finn asked about what had happened with Hux which Rey was pretty thankful for. She wasn’t sure what she would have said, not knowing what exactly Hux would be okay with disclosing, if anything. Still, Finn found something to latch onto and finally said, “So…you’ve been hangin’ out with Phasma a lot, huh?”

“A little, yeah,” Rey replied with a shrug.

“But you guys seem…friendly…” suggested Finn.

Poe just rolled his eyes though and muttered, “What my esteemed colleague is trying to get at is, do you like her?”

Hitting Poe in the arm, Finn muttered, “I was trying to be subtle.”

“And that was working so well.  So Rey, you got a crush on the silver beauty?”

Rey felt very put on the spot and unsure of what to actually say. She was about to protest that the time wasn’t right for talking about things like that but as if to make matters worse, Phasma came in at that exact moment.

“Silver beauty hmm? It’s better than ice queen, I’ll say that,” she said, moving past their group and towards the fridge.

It was clear the three of them expected Phasma to say more but she simply grabbed a drink and walked off. When she was gone from sight and (hopefully) out of earshot, Finn said, “Alright you gotta have a crush on her cause you are bright red.”

Rey smacked Finn with a spatula and glared at him. “You just had to say something didn’t you?”

“Hey, it was Poe that said the thing right when she entered,” Finn cried out, stepping away from the still raised kitchen instrument.

“Didn’t mean for bad timing to happen though,” Poe assured her. “Seriously was just curious. If it’s any condolence, I think it’s cute.”

“Hold on,” Finn said, “no no and no. Phasma and Rey? Uh uh. Never gonna happen.”

Hoping the blush was leaving her cheeks, Rey muttered, “Thanks for the vote of confidence guys.”

“She’s terrifying,” Finn replied.

“Even after all that we’ve been through and learned, you still think that?” asked Poe.

“Hey, you can be cool and terrifying at the same time,” Finn defended, “She may be kickass but she’s still scary. Besides, what about the age gap?”

Rey waved a hand between Poe and Finn.

Poe laughed, good and hard. “She’s got you there Finn.”

“But still…”

“Listen, it’s not like you have to worry anyways,” muttered Rey. “It’s not going to happen. Besides, we’ve just been bonding the past few days. Doesn’t mean more will or has to happen.”

“Well, if it does, you have my blessing,” grinned Poe.

Finn rolled his eyes. “Mine to I guess.”

“Guys! It’s a stupid crush. Alright? I think I just want to be her friend first,” Rey replied.

Poe continued to smile. “Ah, how cute.”

“Just focus on lunch, will you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure,” Poe said.

From there, Rey got them onto other topics of conversations. Later, Phasma came in again and asked about when lunch would be ready. After getting an answer, she gave a thankful nod and walked back off. Rey couldn’t help but blush again, unsure of what Phasma might have heard, if anything.

She couldn’t help the fact that she really was beginning to notice how attractive Phasma was. But she’d meant what she’d said to. She wanted to simply have more opportunities to talk with Phasma, to simply hang out with her and call her a friend now that she thought of her as her own person rather than an extension of Kylo and Hux.

Afterwards, they finished getting lunch ready and the group of six sat down to eat again. Once it was done, they got Kylo and Hux to stick around and play another game of _Risk_ which Rey felt pretty good about. Probably the best part was when Hux won (again) and actually smiled, looking over at Poe. “You did better this time. Good job.”

Poe’s eyes actually widened in shock at that. “Uh…thank you?”

Hux gave a little nod and this time stuck around to help put up the game. Obviously, his more willingness to stick around was probably due to his talk with Kylo and Phasma, but Rey liked to imagine that it was also because of the moment they had in the bathroom.

Things actually got a little odder when Rey headed to the living room to at least relax for a little while. Poe and Finn of course followed her and curled up in a large armchair. Phasma also came in though and sat in another chair and then Kylo and Hux came in and camped out on the couch. Rey looked over for a few seconds and Kylo gave her a look that clearly challenged her to say anything but Rey simply shrugged and asked, “What about a movie?”

Hux snorted and muttered, “Is now really the time?”

“Hey, we’ve come up with a plan. We’ve all got our phones on alert for any Brendol Hux sightings in Canada or the USA. We’ll be able to hear if anyone comes up the driveway. We might as well enjoy our few moments of peace,” Rey replied.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Phasma said, actually surprising everyone. “We are all to tense. It would be best if we could find something to relax ourselves.”

“Can’t believe I’m saying this but yeah, I agree with Phasma,” Poe said.

Finn nodded as well. “Just don’t put on _Batman ’89_. I think we’ve seen that a million times.”

“Hey, it’s a classic,” Rey grinned. “And we just so happen to have a copy here.”

Looking ready to argue, Finn was stopped by Kylo who suddenly said, “I haven’t seen it in a while. Might be fun.”

“Oh no!” cried out Finn. “The cousins are not ganging up on me.”

“Hey, our house,” laughed Rey as she went through the collection of movies. “ _Batman ’89_ it is.”

Finn let out a groan as Poe laughed as well, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Rey then found the movie and started powering up everything. She stuck the VHS into the VCR and then camped out an empty chair next to Phasma. From there, they simply sat and watched the movie like a homicidal maniac wasn’t coming after them.

It was just friends hanging out and watching a movie, occasionally teasing and remarking on the scenes. Rey actually got to bicker with Kylo some and not the kind where it left her screaming in the end. It was definitely a nice change and one which Rey hoped would one day become the norm.

Near the end of the movie though, a noise was heard that had everyone freezing and Rey immediately snapping the TV off. Kylo jumped up and started towards the nearest window.

“Kylo what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” hissed Hux.

“It’s not him,” Kylo whispered.

“How the hell would you know that?” Finn whispered back.

Kylo didn’t respond as finally got up to the window, face pressed against the glass to see what vehicle had just pulled up. Rey waited with baited breathe but it was Phasma that finally asked, “Who is it?”

Though he didn’t seem afraid, Kylo did appear shocked as he said, “Han Solo.”

The tensed shoulders eased for the most part except Rey who cried out, “How the hell did your dad find us!”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. We’re getting rid of him. Now,” Kylo growled out.

Rey jumped from her chair as Kylo rushed to the door and the rest of the group quickly followed. Before Rey could do anything more, Kylo threw open the front door before Han could walk in. There was no hellos or even really look of shock as Han stared at them. Really, his eyes were just focused on his son.

“Ben.”


	10. The Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Anyways, here's the chapter. Thanks for reading and thanks for reading and thanks for the kudos. Enjoy!

"You going to let me in or what?" asked Han as he stared at the group in front of him. He seemed a bit surprised by Finn, Poe, and Phasma, but he had clearly been expecting the rest of them. 

"How did you find us?" Rey blurted out, utterly shocked by this turn. She doubted Kylo was going to say much else seeing as he was the just glaring at his father. 

"Luke tracked your phone kid. Really should have thought of that." 

"Shit I-wait! Why would he be tracking my phone?!" cried out Rey. 

Han rolled his eyes. "You're his kid and he knows he would have done the exact same thing you're doing now. Speaking of which, this is done and over with. Now go get your things because you're leaving," Han replied as he stepped into the house. 

Kylo let out a growl from the back of his throat. "No we are not." 

"Yes you are. I don't care what the reasons are. Brendol Hux is dangerous. You should be with family and Hux should be in protective custody!" 

"Like you'd welcome me back! And Hux is safest beside me. The police won't do shit for him!" 

"How do you know?! You never put trust in others! You always have to do your own thing, never listening to anyone!" 

"Then it shouldn't be so surprising that I'm not listening to you now!" Kylo yelled back. "I'm not leaving!" 

"If you won't leave, I'm calling the police to come get Hux!" 

"No you're not!" 

Throughout the yelling, Rey was paying more attention to everyone else rather than Kylo and Uncle Han. She had been privy to enough of their fights to know how they went. Instead, she looked to Poe and Finn who were awkwardly standing to the side. Phasma had reverted to a blank stare, not giving away anything as the fight raged on. However, Rey really watched Hux. He was digging his fingernails into his hand, his breathing was accelerating. She didn't know exactly what situations Hux had experienced with his father, and she'd never been privy to abuse by a parent either. But she wasn't blind and she could tell that the continuing rise of her cousin's and uncle's voice was having an extremely negative effect on him. 

"Will both of you shut up!" Rey yelled. Both Han and Kylo froze, certainly not expecting the outburst from Rey. "Uncle Han, I love you but we're all legally adults here. Not saying this is smart but you can't make us leave." 

"Rey, this is between Ben and I. Please leave." 

"We already promised we'd stay. For better or worse," Poe suddenly said, taking hold of Rey's and Finn's hand. 

Han grumbled, "I thought you were smarter than this Dameron," before turning back to Kylo. "Ben, it is not safe here. You are leaving now." 

"Since when have you ever cared about my safety!?" 

"I have always cared about your safety. How can you say that?!" 

"You threw me out!" 

"You walked out!" 

Kylo suddenly stomped off into the next room. 

"Ben, don't you walk away from me like that!" 

Though Rey had to say the situation could have been handled better, she understood why Kylo had done that. Rey's outburst had broken Kylo's concentration on his father and he'd finally noticed how twitchy and panicky Hux had started to look. Though she was sure Kylo would have done something rude like that anyways, at least now he had a reason for his sudden leaving. 

With them gone from the front door, everyone else visibly relaxed. They could still hear the yelling but it was muffled now. 

"I forgot how scary he could be," muttered Poe. "I'm pretty sure it's the eyes. He does a great death glare." 

"Enough with the jokes Poe. What are we going to do?" asked Finn. "I mean, we can't just defy him and stay here." 

"Oh yes we can," Rey replied as she got out her phone. "We've all agreed that this is the only way and we're all going to stick with it." 

"What are you doing?" asked Phasma. 

"Calling my Dad so I can yell at him and hopefully get Uncle Han off our back," muttered Rey. 

She walked back into the living room as she put the phone up to her ear. It rang several times before she finally got, "Hey sweetheart what-" 

"Don't 'hey sweetheart' me! You tracked my phone!" cried out Rey. "What the hell Dad?! I thought you trusted me." 

"I do trust you," Luke quickly got out, "but I want you safe as well and being near Hux is the exact opposite at the moment." 

"Dad...Han is here now." 

"I'm not surprised. He's been worried sick since Ben-Kylo whatever he's calling himself, went missing with Hux." 

Rey rubbed her eyes. Of course he had. Now why was it impossible for Han to actually express that worry to Kylo? Or for Kylo to understand it? "Dad, I really need you to find a way to get Han off our back. He's just going to get in the way." 

"Rey-" 

"This is about protecting Hux and Han is just making that more difficult." 

"Since when have you cared about your cousin's boyfriend?" 

"Since like yesterday. Or this morning. I don't know! But let's just say he's not who I thought, alright? So can you please just talk to Han?" asked Rey. 

"I'm not going to be able to convince him to leave without his son." 

"Then call Aunt Leia and have her do it! I know she's capable of getting him to change his mind at least some of the time. Just...please Dad." 

Rey could visualize her dad rubbing his eyes as he sighed, "I'll see what I can do. You understand that I just want you safe right?" 

"And I am safe." Alright, that was an alright lie but at least it sounded convincing. "I'll call you after this thing with Han calms down." 

"Alright, I love you sweetheart. Stay safe." 

"I will. Promise." 

"Ok, bye." 

Rey hung up and covered her face with her hands. She couldn't believe that after finally feeling somewhat confident in this plan, Han had come usurped all that. All she wanted to do was run out of the blasted place and go to the police like she'd thought originally. But she'd made a promise and finally seen their reasoning. Even if it went against what she believed, she had to do it to protect Hux and after seeing this new side of him, seeing him as a person, she did care for the ginger brat. 

As she continued to rub at her face, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Phasma. 

"Are you alright?" she asked. 

"Um, for the most part. How is Hux?" 

"Better. I'm surprised you were able to catch onto his growing discomfort but am glad you were able to help." 

"Yeah me to. Sorry for causing you all this trouble." 

"It is not your fault Rey. You simply have parents that care about you. And no one should feel sorry about that," Phasma replied. 

Rey couldn't help but smile at that. "Yeah, I guess I do. I am sorry about Uncle Han though. I mean, I know it's not my place to apologize but I feel like I should. Then again, Kylo and him are always like this and I'm sure you've been privy to one of their fights at one time or another." 

"Yes, I have. It is interesting to see how much they care for each other yet are unable to get that point across to the other." 

"Yeah. It just got worse after our Grandpa Obi-Wan's death and the bridge between them has just steadily been growing," sighed Rey. "I want them to talk, and from my understanding it's been a while since they've even confronted the other. I just wish it hadn't been here. Having Han here just makes it worse and if he finds out about the actual plan then he's going to flip shit." 

Phasma nodded. "He seems like the type to." 

"You have the gun right?" Rey asked. 

Phasma nodded. As she pulled it out from where it had rested in her pants waistband, she said, "It's rather stupid not having a holster. I'll never understand why Hux or Kylo don't have a holster for it." 

Rey chuckled and replied, "Well, for now I think it's best if we try and keep it out of sight and hopefully Uncle Han will head out soon." 

Phasma put the gun behind a couch cushion and then sat down there just so they wouldn't have a chance of Han accidentally sitting by or on it. Rey moved and sat next to her, just as a thought crossed her mind. "I don't know if you're allowed to say this or not, obviously I'll ask him if you don't feel you have the right to answer, but why does Hux call himself Hux?" 

Hesitating for a moment, Phasma mulled this over in her head before she murmured, "Brendol is his father's name. Being called Brendol Jr. makes Hux feel all the more like he was meant to be a carbon copy of his father and now, that is the exact opposite of what he wishes. However, Hux carries a history with it, family members that accomplished things and were good people. He doesn't want the Hux name to just end with Brendol Hux and for people to only remember the monster that made that name well known. He wants to change that until Hux is associated with things that could make someone proud to have the name again." 

"Hmm, that's oddly sweet coming from mister cold logic." 

"Well, as I believe we've proven, he's not just that." 

"No, he's not," agreed Rey with a small smile. 

At that point, Hux came into the living room being trailed by Poe and Finn. It looked like Hux had just splashed water on his face and the indentations from where he'd been pressing his nails into his palms were still clear, but overall he seemed a great deal calmer. 

"They have somehow jumped onto arguing about you grandparents," Poe said as they entered. "I honestly have no idea how they'd jumped onto that subject." 

Rey didn't either. She wondered if maybe they were finally getting to the root of their problems but now really wasn't the time for it. 

"We also did a quick look around, made sure nothing suspicious or odd was up since we've all been a bit preoccupied with the sudden guest," Finn put in. 

"Thanks," said Rey. 

Poe gave a little smile but then asked, "What are we going to do when Kylo and his dad finally tone it down and Han does call the police? Because I don't doubt that he will." 

"We'll have a few moments to deal with that bridge when it gets here," Phasma suddenly said as she removed something from her pocket. 

Rey's eyes went wide. "You pickpocketed Uncle Han!" 

"I figured we might need the extra minutes of confusion that it would add," Phasma replied. 

"Great so-" 

Rey was cut off as they heard stomping and all eyes went to the stairs that lead to the next floor. 

"Stop running away Ben!" 

"Why?!" yelled Kylo. "That's all you ever did!" 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"Every time I actually came to you with a problem you never listened to me!" Kylo retorted. "You never listened and you always gave some bullshit answer to my questions and you didn't even morn! All you did was talk about them and complain about them and when they were gone you never even were sorry about it!" 

Morn, thought Rey. Had she actually been onto something? Was this all stimming back to their grandfather and grandmother's deaths? 

"Of course I cared Ben! How can you think I didn't?" 

"Because you never said anything! You never told me it would be alright! You were even late for the god damn funerals! How could you have cared when you never fucking said anything?!" 

"Because I didn't know what to say! I didn't know my parents! I didn't have parents to lose yet losing my in-laws was liking losing my parents!" Han suddenly yelled back. "I didn't know what to do or say because I didn't expect it to hurt so god damn-" 

And then everyone suddenly shut up. A car was pulling up. Han was already there and he hadn't mentioned anyone else sporadically showing up. Luke hadn't said he'd show up. And Han hadn't called the police, at least he had only said he would later. 

It seemed that Han's and Kylo's heart to heart was going to have to wait because the only person that could be there was Brendol Hux.


	11. Stuck Between Panic and Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for those reading this. Depending on how the next chapter goes, I may end up having one more chapter (like an epilogue) or the next chapter may be a little extra long. I'm not sure yet. Anyways, thank you to all those that have read this story and/or series. Please enjoy :)

Phasma reacted automatically. She stood up, grabbed the gun from the hiding place, went to the nearest window, aimed, and fired two shots before one shot was fired back at her. Everyone jumped as they heard the guns go off and Han started to yell something out but Phasma was already moving again. She pushed past Han and went for the front door. 

"Phasma!" Rey yelled but the woman wasn't listening. 

She knew her job and she was determined to do it. Rey rushed to the window that Phasma had been at as another gunshot went off. There were a few drops of blood on the ground from where one bullet had grazed Phasma and a bullet hole in the window. She wasn't sure where the bullet had lodged itself but at least she knew it wasn't in someone else. 

As Rey heard another shot, she tried to see what was going on but they seemed to have moved out of her viewpoint. She started to run for the front door but was grabbed midway. 

"Stay here." 

Rey looked up at Han who forcefully pushed her back and went out the door. Of course, he should have known that everyone would follow him. How could they stay still with Phasma in danger like she was? 

They rushed out and over to the left side of the house where Phasma and a man were grappling in the gravel. Blood had blossomed on Phasma's right forearm where the bullet had grazed her and the man in the dust was bleeding out of his left shoulder from a more direct hit. 

Rey couldn't help but notice that Brendol Hux looked about the age of Grandpa Ani and most of his ginger hair was replaced with gray and white. She'd seen younger pictures of him before though and it was unmistakably the same man. An emotionless look was on his face, utterly cold blooded, and when he got the barrel of his gun against Phasma's head, Rey nearly screamed. 

However, she didn't get a chance as Hux did it for her, rushing past everyone until he was standing beside the two bodies. He was shaking all over and that calm that he had held only moments ago was utterly shattered as his breathing came in and out in short, gasping breaths. 

"Don't shoot her! This is all because of me!" 

Phasma started to say, "Hux-" 

"Shut up!" yelled Hux before she could say more.  He turned his attention back to his father. "It's me you want so just shoot me and get this over with!" 

Rey watched as Brendol Hux cocked his head to the side for a split second and then easily raised his gun, ready to pull the trigger. But then the unexpected happened as Han suddenly stepped in front of Hux. 

"You ain't shooting this kid. Not without going through me." 

A slight spark of annoyance passed over Brendol Hux's face before he became emotionless again. He kept his tight hold on Phasma and continued to stare Han down. 

Hux looked to be ready to go into hysterics. "What the hell! Get out of the way he'll just-" 

But Hux didn't get to finish as Brendol Hux fired the trigger and Han fell to his knees. 

It was difficult to say who was screaming. Maybe everyone was or no one was and the sound was simply in Rey's head. But she was able to at least focus enough to tell what happened next. Hux scrambled forward and pressed his head to his father's gun with tears streaming down his face. He just wanted it to end, didn't want anyone else to get hurt, and was ready to give everything simply for that to happen. 

Yet the sudden appearance of Hux pressing his forehead to Brendol Hux's gun startled the man, so slightly that Rey wouldn't have noticed except for the fact that it gave Phasma an open window of several seconds. She took it and hit Brendol Hux in the groin. 

The gun went off but instead of going through Hux's skull it went off right next to his ear. As he fell, deafened by the sound, Phasma returned to grappling with Brendol Hux. The pain in his shoulder seemed to be finally affecting him and Phasma used that against him until she managed to grab his gun (the other being out of sight and impossible to reach). 

When she had his head in her line of sight, she didn't hesitate and blew his brains out. 

Phasma swiftly moved from the body to Hux who was still on the ground and in pain from the gun going off in his ear. Kylo seemed to momentarily freeze, unsure of who to go to, but as Phasma had Hux under control, Kylo instead rushed to his father. 

Rey's eyes flitted from her uncle bleeding out, to Hux sobbing and clutching his head, to Brendol Hux with a halo of blood and brains seeping out of his head. She didn't know which to focus on, didn't really want to focus on any of it, and suddenly Finn was pulling her close and she was able to look away from it all for just a moment. Finn was shaking as bad as her and they simply held each other for a moment as Rey's brain seemed to finally start normally processing the world around her. 

When that happened, she could hear Poe finishing up a call with the police. Kylo was asking again and again why Han had done it as he pressed on the wound, and Hux had finally moved out of his fetal position and had moved to his father. He was still crying, still shaking, and it was so awfully clear he didn't know how to react. 

Rey went to her uncle first. She had no experience with gunshot wounds and neither did Kylo. All they could do was keep pressure on it. 

Kylo was again asking, "Why the hell would you do something like that?!" 

"You have to ask?" Han weakly got out. 

"Of course I do! Why would you risk your life like that!? Why do that for Hux!? You don't even like him!?" 

"Better-better an old man to go out than a kid," Han muttered, blood starting to dribble out of his mouth. 

"Please Uncle Han," whispered Rey, "just hang on. The police are coming." 

It was difficult to say if he heard her or if he was simply trying to focus on his son. "I love you," he said. "Always have." 

"Even when I walked out and said those awful things?" cried Kylo. 

"Unconditionally," Han replied as more blood dripped out of his mouth. 

Rey was stuck in between going into shock or a panic attack. She didn't know what to do, didn't know how to deal with the situation and Kylo seemed to be stuck in that limbo as well. However, Phasma suddenly appeared and was pushing both of them aside. 

Kylo momentarily panicked and tried to force himself back by his father but Phasma held up a hand. "I've had to deal with similar situations. I may be able to keep him alive before the EMTs arrive." 

Both Rey and Kylo nodded, still unsure whether to start hyperventilating or go numb. Rey looked over at Hux and was at least thankful to see that Poe and Finn were with him. Poe had pulled Hux away and forced his face into the crook of his neck so that he was no longer staring at his father's corpse. As Hux continued to cry and shake, Finn moved his hand in soothing circles on Hux's back, his eyes every once in a while falling on the body, only to snap back to Hux with a shutter. 

Phasma went to work quickly, assessing where the damage was and how she should respond to it. She managed to snap Rey and Kylo out of their stupor and both ran into the house to grab the necessary instruments she required to hopefully keep Han from death. They helped where they could and numbly stared when there was nothing else to do. Kylo had started muttering "why" over and over again, still not understanding why his father would have done such a thing. 

By now, Han's eyes had slipped shut though his chest was still moving up and down though just barely. 

Around that time, police and EMTs finally arrived. Phasma took a step back as Han was put into professional hands and put on a stretcher. Police were pushing everyone away from the body as well and got everyone together as someone else came up and started to look everyone over. He took care of the grazed wound on Phasma and stopped at Kylo and Rey. 

Rey was confused at first but looked down and realized what he was looking at. "Its Uncle Han's blood," Rey whispered and now that she couldn't tear her gaze away from her bloody hands. She was vaguely aware that Hux was getting pulled off to the side to have his hearing checked and to see if he needed emergency medical attention while cops started asking questions. 

Neither Rey nor Kylo could answer though, both preoccupied with their bloody hands. Finn seemed to have gone into shock over the whole thing, much like Hux, leaving Phasma and Poe to explain as best they could everything that had happened. 

Both expertly kept the part that they had planned to kill Brendol Hux out of their story and simply explained they were getting away from everything due to Hux being frightened of his father. Han showed up, angered that his son had disappeared unexpectedly and then Brendol Hux had shown up at the same time. 

Rey, Kylo, Hux, and Finn were then taken to be treated for their shock while Phasma and Poe both agreed to more questioning by the police until their friends could muster up any words. 

For Rey, the rest of the trip seemed to go in a blur as she plucked at things that she could focus on. Getting in a police car, driving, buildings, driving some more, police officers and uniforms, Kylo by her, blood still on her hands, blood finally being washed from her hands, and finally...finally she was able to bring herself to talk to the police. 

After retelling the story, she was taken to the nearest hospital where Han had been taken. Eventually they were all there, sitting and waiting for news of any sorts. 

Kylo was pacing relentlessly and Hux would occasionally stand up and try to get him to stop but it never worked. Kylo didn't speak except once when Hux muttered, "I'm sorry." 

"Don't you say that. Don't you ever say that! This isn't your fault," Kylo replied before going back to his silent pacing. 

Finn had passed out by that point and his head was resting in Poe's lap. Poe also looked on the verge of passing out though he forced himself to stay awake, trying to stay ready for anything. Rey still wasn't sure how her position had happened. She knew she'd sat next to Phasma and after a while, she'd realized that Phasma had put her arm around her and pulled Rey close. Rey let it happen, finding contact comforting and she eventually looped an arm around Phasma's weight so as to stay close. 

The surgery went on for seven hours and during that time, Kylo continued his pacing with an occasional retort to some comment, Finn had woken up only for Poe to pass out in his lap, Hux had burst into tears twice before calming down again, and Rey had slipped closer to Phasma until she was laying across her lap. Phasma was moving her fingers through Rey's messy hair in a way that could have easily made her pass out except not long after, a doctor finally started heading in their direction. 

It turned out she was headed for them and right away everyone was being pulled awake and were standing up, waiting expectantly for the news. 

"The surgery was successful," the doctor said, "and he's in a fairly stable condition, but we won't know if he's truly pulled through until he wakes up. As for now, you can see him but only two at a time." 

They thanked the doctor and then after a moment of uncertainty, everyone gestured for Kylo and Rey to see him first. Both cousins started to head to the designated room but halfway there, Kylo froze, uncertain and afraid of what he would see. It took Rey a moment to realize he'd stopped but when she did, she went back for him and grasped his hand, squeezing tightly to show that he wouldn't be alone. 

Kylo returned that with a tight nod and they both headed into Han Solo's hospital room. 


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write more for this but honestly couldn't think up anything else so I'm leaving it here. If I do come up with a better ending I'll come back and change this but I didn't want to leave you guys with nothing for months on end so I hope this satisfies. This is the end of the story and the series. Thank you for reading, whether you just read this story or the past ones, no matter which one you found first. Thank you for sticking with me and I hope it was worth your while.

Fives hours later, the hospital was swarmed with Amidala family as Luke, Leia, Wedge and Anakin came through the hospital, adding to the group of Phasma, Poe, Finn, and Hux. Leia went to the hospital room first where Kylo and Rey still were. 

Rey grabbed onto her aunt immediately, hugging her tight and saying sorry over and over again. When Rey was finally able to let go, she stayed behind to watch Leia go to her son. As they embrace, Rey quickly left to go to the weighting room where she grabbed hold of her fathers and they hugged her tight and told her to never pull a stupid stunt like that again but that they were so proud of her for staying so strong and taking care of her friends at the same time. 

Rey also went to her grandfather who held her tight for a long time before finally letting go. Then came several long hours where everyone started to explain what had happened. The adults somewhat understood what had happened but the police hadn't told them everything and they, mostly, stayed silent during the rather lengthy tale. 

After it was over, there was an odd moment where Grandpa Ani put his hand on Hux's shoulder and said, "I do not know what you're going through right now. I imagine very few truly understand. But I, and this family are here for you if you need anything." 

It was clear Hux was shocked and didn't trust himself to speak so he just shakily nodded. 

After a while, Kylo came back out and Luke went in to see Han. Wedge went out to get everybody something seeing as nobody had really drank or ate in a while. As that happened and Grandpa Ani slowly dosed off, Rey inched over to Kylo and took his hand again. 

"How are you?" she whispered softly. 

"I'm...if he dies I'll never forgive him! I...there's so much shit I need to tell him and I...he can't die," Kylo finally got, his voice shaking ever so slightly. 

"You were going pretty well back at the house," Rey said. "You seemed to be finally getting your point across." 

"He wouldn't have listened-" 

"He was listening though," Rey quickly replied. "He was listening and trying to respond and explain his way of thinking. You were still yelling at each other but...it was certainly something." 

Kylo was silent for a moment and ran his fingers through his long hair. "I was so scared when he died. I was so scared and I...I..." 

"Tell him that then. Don't choke back your words. Just...just scream it out if you have to. Yell it out!" said Rey. "But just tell him. Tell him how much you care." 

He hesitantly nodded and then turned his focus back to Hux. It was difficult to say how Hux was doing and the support and love from their family was clearly putting him off after years of not having that. But Hux was strong and he had Kylo and Phasma so Rey was sure he'd make it through. 

She went to Phasma, finally finding time to really look her over and check her out. 

"I was so worried when you just rushed out there," Rey murmured. 

"I am thankful for that." Phasma paused. "I suppose that's an odd statement to say. But it's how I felt. I am thankful that you would worry for me." 

Rey's lips quirked up ever so slightly. "How are you?" 

"I am fine Rey. I have protected Hux and my friends," she replied. "I will be fine." 

"So we really are friends?" 

And then Phasma gave that small smile that brightened up her still face. "Yes. I would consider you that." 

Rey smiled back, a full smile, but her heart wasn't completely in it, not yet. She needed to know her uncle was alright before she could really let happiness over this take her. 

Her father came back soon after that, Wedge passing out food to everyone even if they'd said they weren't hungry to try and keep them hydrated. He kissed Rey on the forehead, made sure she was okay, and then headed down to Han's room. He was gone for a little while before coming back and sitting with them for what felt like an eternity. 

After everything that had happened, Rey didn't know if she could take it if it ended in tears. She didn't know if she would last if he died before their family could really be put back together. She didn't know if she would be able to stand, if she would crumble and fall into tiny, broken pieces across the floor. 

But thankfully she never had to find out as her dad came running down the hall. 

"He's awake! Guys he's awake!" 

In one swift movement, seven people stood up and crowded around Luke as words got thrown left and right. When the noise calmed down enough that Luke didn't have to shout over everyone, he said, "He's awake, he's talking, it's still a bit soon but it does look like he's going to be okay." 

A cheer went up, breaking the soft silence of the hospital. For Rey, it was like the end of the nightmare. Everything was going to be okay, the danger was over, and her family and friends were safe. Perhaps she had seen to many movies, it certainly would explain her impulsive action, but it did seem like the right one and she jumped to give Phasma a quick celebratory kiss. Rey was to happy to truly feel embarrassed thoguh she was sure the feeling would come crashing down on her later. They were standing in the back so no one saw except Luke who gave her a clear look that said 'we're talking later' but Rey really only focused on Phasma's face as she looked curiously at Rey. 

"He's asking for you Kylo," Luke finally added once the silence went down amongst their group. 

Kylo gave a stiff nod having frozen up. However, Rey pushed through and grabbed his hand. Squeezing tightly, she gave him a hard look and whispered, "I believe in you Kylo. I know you can do it." 

He gave a stiff nod and swiftly walked off as Rey avoided her dad, at least for the moment, to quickly get back to Phasma. They took a few steps away from the group and Rey quickly said, "Sorry about that. Got a little over excited." 

"It is fine Rey," chuckled Phasma. "But I think that we should wait for our date." 

"Date?!" squeaked Rey. 

"Yes. You said you wanted to come to my work, help with some of the machines. Do you...?" 

"Yes," Rey quickly said. "Yes completely!" 

"I am glad to hear it," Phasma smiled. She glanced back towards Han Solo's hospital room. "Do you think reconciliation is possible?" 

"Before all this?" asked Rey. "Definitely not. But now...there's definitely going to be more screaming and yelling but once all that is over with...yeah. I think it's possible." 

Phasma continued to smile, the longest she'd ever done it in Rey's presence. "Then I am glad that good has come from this. Thank you for your help. And thank you for being so set on coming with me in my search for Kylo and Hux." 

Rey glanced over at her family, a family that had would survive and had survived and had grown after everything. Rey smiled in return. "Thank you for letting me come along."


End file.
